New domestic season to start in December

If there are any gaps between the clubs and the players regarding the clearance of dues and payments of the new contract, the federation will look after the matter

Abdus Salam Murshedy, BFF Vice-president

The Professional Football League Committee (PFLC) of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) yesterday decided to start the 2020-21 from the first week of December through the season's curtain-raising Federation Cup after settling agreement issues between clubs and the players.

Participating clubs had offered footballers only 20 per cent of their new contracts, which would be the same as their contracts of the 2019-20 season. Booters' demand of paying 50 per cent of the new contract and also demanded the clearance of all of their wages of last season's Bangladesh Premier League, which was cancelled in mid-March after only six rounds of matches due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"The next season will get underway in the first week of December as all clubs have agreed to the proposal. Now we have to take approval from the executive committee and we will try to sit in an executive meeting within this month," said PFLC chairman and BFF senior vice-president Abdus Salam Murshedy after the meeting at the BFF House yesterday.

"We have received written opinions from most clubs about where they stand regarding players' payment, the start of the season and foreign players' quota. As per discussions with clubs and players, we have decided that the players will get 25 per cent of their new contracts, which will be the same as the previous season," Murshedy said.

"The economy hasn't bounced back after the pandemic. The clubs, which are being run on donations, are in financial trouble. I have also sat with the players twice and talked to them over the phone. The players want to play because they will disappear if football is not started immediately."

Clubs had before told the PFLC that they would clear all of last season's dues but have changed their minds and cleared only 45 per cent during the signing of the new contract.

"If there are any gaps between the clubs and the players regarding the clearance of dues and payments of the new contract, the federation will look after the matter," said Murshedy, who could not say when the window would open.

It was also decided at the meeting that each club could sign four foreign players instead of five and field all of them in a single match while venues were trimmed to three or four instead of previous seven.