FIFA asks BFF to pay Day’s due wages

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has clearly failed to learn lessons from its past mishaps as the local game's governing body received an instruction from FIFA to clear the due wages of former national team head coach Jamie Day, who was relieved off his duty in September last year, prior to the beginning of SAFF Championship.

Neither the BFF nor Day, currently staying in England, had disclosed the amount FIFA Players' Status Committee asked the BFF to pay to the English coach. However, it has been learned that the amount is 86 thousand US dollars.

Replying to a query from The Daily Star, Day said, "Yes, BFF will have to pay as FIFA have awarded me the payment but there isn't much to say on it just yet."

Previously in 2016, FIFA had before instructed the BFF to clear the due wages of sacked Dutch coach Rene Koster, which amounted to 80 thousand euros, including the interest accrued over the unpaid period. Back then, the BFF was also ordered to pay 8000 Swiss francs to FIFA and Koster as proceedings of the case. Ultimately, the BFF took more than a year to transfer payments to the Dutch coach.

Meanwhile, in a video statement, BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag said today, "Former coach Jamie Day appealed to FIFA about his unpaid wages and FIFA has asked us to give away the compensation to Jamie. Our legal department is now working on it to appeal the matter to FIFA."

Day further informed that he had been in constant touch with the BFF to recover his unpaid wages, as per his contract. However, after failing to do so, he was forced to lodge the complaint to FIFA early this year.

Consequently, FIFA gave the verdict on Tuesday asking the BFF to clear the due wages of Day, whose two-year contract was supposed to expire in August in 2022.