Budding booters up for BPL auction

The upcoming season of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is all set to mark a new chapter as the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) puts up its budding players from BFF Elite Academy for an auction for BPL outfits ahead of the upcoming season.

The auction of 10 players -- Md Asif, Md Azizul Haque Ananta, Sajed Hasan Jummon Nijhum, Md Mirajul Islam, Chandan Roy, Asadul Mollah, Sirajul Islam Rana, Md Rubel Sheikh, Md Imran Khan and Suman Soren -- will be held at the InterContinental Hotel this afternoon.

The aforementioned players have been divided into two categories: the base price corresponding to six A category players was fixed at TK 5 lakh, while the remaining four players were each valued at a minimum Tk 4 lakh.

In the past, BPL outfits usually signed players as per their requirement. However, three top clubs -- Mohammedan SC, Sheikh Russel KC and Brothers Union -- have expressed their desire to rope in BFF Elite Academy players on loan for the upcoming 2023-24 season before the transfer window opened on August 1.

The clubs also mentioned their desired players and offered prices. However, following the common demand of individual players, BFF has been forced to put those players on auction. Mohammedan wanted four players, while Sheikh Russel and Brothers sought seven and 10 players, respectively.

Although only three clubs showed their interest in the academy players, BFF invited all BPL outfits to participate in the auction. Apart from Mohammedan, Sheikh Russel and Brothers, a few other clubs are likely to take part in the auction.

Explaining reasons to hold the auction, BFF development committee chairman and vice president, Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan Manik, told The Daily Star, "If the committee distributes players as per the clubs' requirements, there will be questions raised.

"We, therefore, decided to put the players through an opening process. The club with the highest bid will get a player on loan for a season."

In operation since 2021, BFF Elite Academy products played in the second-tier Bangladesh Championship League (BCL) as a team in the last two seasons and are set to play their third season in 2023-24. The previous BCL edition saw BFF Elite Academy stand second among 11 teams -- improving from their position, fourth, in the season prior that had 12 teams.

The last season saw Sheikh Russel show their intention to draw a few academy players in their ranks. BFF, though, did not release the players. However, forward Mirajul Islam was given the clearance to play for Mohammedan for Tk 10 lakh in the 2021-22 season.