The already-delayed professional football league season 2015-16 has been deferred once again as the season opening Independence Cup, scheduled to kick off today, has been postponed due to judicial restraint yesterday. The curtain-raiser is rescheduled to begin on Friday.
The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) however termed the reason of delay ‘unavoidable circumstances’ and finalised a new date through a press release. The tournament is not going to be held in this month of March when the tournament has been taking place since its introduction.
The new crisis arose after the High Court on Monday asked country’s football governing body to take necessary steps to bring back eight footballers to Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club who had left the side recently.
Five out of eight players – Mamunul Islam, Rohel Rana, Rayhan Hasan, Yeamin Munna, Nasiruddin – have recently joined Chittagong Abahani while Alamgir Kabir Rana and Jamal Bhuiyan are in Sheikh Russel and Shahidul Alam Sohel in Abahani.
All of them were scheduled to play in the Independence Cup today or tomorrow but due to writ petition by High Court that don’t allow the players to play for other club before the hearing. The BFF is confident that they will come to a solution to start the tournament on April 1.
The rumor has it that four premier league clubs Sheikh Russel, Brothers Union, Feni Soccer Club and Uttar Baridhara will not participate if the event don’t take place in the month of independence. But the BFF source dismissed the claim.