Bangladesh Football Federation yesterday officially introduced Belgian coach Tom Julianus Saintfiet as the head coach of the Bangladesh team and Paul Thomas Smalley as the technical and strategical director of the federation.
Saintfiet only signed a two-month deal that will cover Bangladesh's two matches against Bhutan in the Asian Football Confederation Cup Qualifiers Play-off in September and October. Smalley on the other hand, penned a two-year deal with the BFF.
The duo signed the contract papers on Saturday but it was only announced officially at BFF House yesterday in the presence of the federation's national team management committee chairman Kazi Nabil Ahmed. Together, the duo are going to cost the federation around $20,000 per month.
Meanwhile, BFF is also planning to appoint a fitness trainer and a goalkeeping coach. The new
fitness trainer of the national team, Ridoh Burden, arrived in Dhaka yesterday evening to join Saintfiet with whom the South African worked for Togo previously.
Goalkeeper coach Ryan Sandford will arrive tomorrow from New Zealand. Saintfiet termed both the coaches “highly qualified and experienced”.
As Saintfiet's deal is only for the short term, Smalley's signing is going to be an important deal for the BFF as well as the country's football. BFF's technical director post has not been that influential in the past.
Following the signing ceremony, Smalley said he is “extremely excited and impressed” by the “opportunity” and the BFF's professionalism.
“With the help of people here in Bangladesh and the local experienced people, we can produce a plan that clearly illustrates and describes what we are going to do in the next four years. That's my early priority and it will take longer than two years,” said the Englishman.
He continued, “I'm committed for two years. Obviously the development of the game is going to take longer than two years. I have significant experience at this level.
“My first priority would be to develop coaches here because if you are going to develop, you need the best teachers. So my early priority is to take a look at the infrastructure here.
“We also have to develop the best coaches because they have a lot of influence.”
Smalley said he is “extremely excited” to have Saintfiet here as national coach.
“He has experience throughout the world with national teams. If you look at his results, passion, his ability to initiate change and to win football matches in international level, it'll become clear. He is extremely excited and I'm happy to work closely with him. Hopefully I can make valuable contributions in developing Bangladesh football,” he said.
Saintfiet has been with the national team for more than a month, watching premier league matches and conducting a six-day training camp before even signing the contract.
“For me, it's a huge honour to become the national team head coach of Bangladesh. Working for the Bangladesh Football Federation is something special for me,”
He added, “I'm here for a short time project with one goal - to qualify in the qualifiers, against Bhutan. That's our aim and ambition for the coming weeks. I'm convinced we have the quality to qualify. My ambition is then after that to bring Bangladesh to higher level.”Tom Julianus SaintfietHead coachPaul Thomas SmalleyTechnical and strategical directorRyan SandfordGoalkeeper coachRidoh BurdenFitness trainer
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
