BFF post draws double dose of fan frustration

The Bangladesh Football Federation's (BFF) recent online posts have opened the floodgates of fan frustration -- though not for the reasons one might have expected.

On Sunday, BFF's Facebook post announcing the national women's team squad for the upcoming tri-nation series in Jordan was quickly overwhelmed by angry comments about the ongoing ticketing fiasco for the Bangladesh men's Asian Cup Qualifiers against Singapore on June 10 -- a highly anticipated fixture as England-based Hamza Choudhury is set to make his home debut.

The ticket sale, managed by BFF and the online platform Tickify, was meant to begin at noon on Saturday but was delayed until 8pm. When sales finally opened, the site crashed minutes later due to an "unexpected surge" of over 150,000 requests that overwhelmed the system.

Despite apologies from both BFF and Tickify, many fans continued to vent their frustration on social media, with the women's team squad post becoming a surprising hotspot for ticket-related complaints.

Amid this chaos, the women's football squad announcement itself has not escaped criticism. The exclusion of former captain Sabina Khatun, along with Sanjida Akter, Masura Parvin, Krishna Rani Sarkar, and Matsushima Sumaya -- all SAFF Championship winners -- sparked a backlash questioning the rationale behind the selections.

The 23-member squad, announced on Sunday, features a mix of returning players and emerging talents. Yet the omission of several senior players who had previously clashed with head coach Peter Butler drew criticism.

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"Sumaya and others have been dropped -- BFF must explain," wrote one fan, encapsulating the wider sense of dissatisfaction. Others dismissed the squad as "pointless", questioned the inclusion of only four defenders, and asked repeatedly: "Where are Sabina, Sanjida, Sumaya and Masura?"

The latest squad selection comes amid lingering tensions within the women's team setup. In January, 18 senior players, including Sabina, boycotted training in protest against Butler's management. While nine of those players have now returned to the fold, Sabina and four others remain sidelined.

Sabina -- Bangladesh's all-time top scorer and a two-time SAFF Championship-winning captain -- is currently playing in the Bhutan Women's League for Paro FC, alongside Sanjida (Thimphu City), Krishna (Transport United), Masura (Transport), and Sumaya (Paro).

The women's side is widely seen as the country's most successful sporting outfit in recent years, and as the squad prepares to depart for Jordan -- where they will face the hosts on May 31 and Indonesia on June 3 -- fans fear the current disunity could undermine years of hard-earned progress.

As one commenter put it: "First cricket collapsed. Now it seems women's football is heading the same way."