Deficit budget and increase of councillors headline BFF AGM

The Bangladesh Football Federation has approved a budget worth Tk 54.29cr, with a Tk 22.95cr deficit, for the 2024-25 fiscal during its Annual General Meeting at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka today.

The federation has estimated an income of Tk 31.45cr to be generated from various sources while it aims to make up for the deficit with funding from sponsors and the government, said the federation's senior-vice president and chairman of finance committee, Abdus Salam Murshedy.

"We have approved our budget for 2024 today. The shortage will be secured from other sources including sponsors and the Ministry of Youth and Sports," Murshedy told reporters after the AGM.

The size of the budget for the current year is around more than Tk 5 cr from the last budget, which was placed in 2022, with the BFF unable to hold an AGM last due following the FIFA sanction on its general secretary. The previous budget, meanwhile, had a deficit of over Tk 8cr.

Murshedi said they are not worried about the deficit.

"Budget is always in deficit. If income is same as expenditure, then you would ask us about out contribution."

Meanwhile, the BFF, as expected, awarded councillorship to four clubs who finished in the top four of the recently-held women's football league, bringing the number of councillors to 151.

"Today only one new decision has been made. Four new councillors were added from the women's league. It was one of the demands of BFF and the women's committee," BFF president Kazi Salahuddin said following the nearly-two-hour AGM.

The decision, however, is in compete contrast to what the BFF had said two years ago about reducing the size of the executive committee and the number of councilors.

"When FIFA had suggested that, we had said that if you [FIFA] want to reduce, you do it yourself. We can neither reduce nor increase because to do this, the congress will have to be held again. We continued to discuss it, but they said to put it on hold. That was what FIFA said," Salahuddin said in reply to a question.