The supporters of Mohammedan SC don't flock to the Motijheel-based tent of the Black and Whites to watch their favourite footballers like they once used to during the glory days of football. But today, the Mohammedan supporters once again gathered at the club tent, obviously not to see a new football sensation rather bid goodbye to the great Badal Roy.

Roy perhaps would have been the happiest had he witnessed such a large influx of supporters at the Mohammedan tent, gathered to celebrate a famous victory or a trophy-laden season. But today, it was rather the sad demise of Roy that was the subject of all gathering with the spectators, organisers, former and current footballers bidding him goodbye in teary eyes.

The body of Roy, who died of liver cancer on Sunday, was kept on a makeshift stage at the club tent for nearly an hour for the supporters, colleagues, officials and football fans to pay their last homage before the former vice president of Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) was taken to the Bangabandhu National Stadium, a place where he performed superbly to get the stardom title.  

"You may tell football was more than oxygen for Badal da," said Imtiaz Sultan Jonny who played alongside Badal wearing the Black and White jersey in 1985.

"Three days before he fell sick, he phoned me to inquire about the state of Mohammedan and asked me whether Mohammedan SC will be revived and requested me to look after the football team. He never thought of anything other than football and his feelings always revolved around football."

Former national defender Johnny also believes the departure of Roy may put an impact on the rebuilding process of Mohammedan SC.

"He was a very good organiser who knew how to unite the officials. He brought all core officials of the clubs under one roof and helped make a smooth transition. And I think his departure may affect a bit in rebuilding Mohammedan," said Johnny.

"While leaving Khulna for Dhaka to play football, I really felt the pain but it was mitigated once I reached the Mohammedan club tent which had a family-like environment and Badal Da was like a guardian, arranged two exhibition matches in Narayanganj and Sirajganj to raise funds for treatment of my injured knee in 1985," recalled Mohammedan former speedy winger Kazi Josim Uddin Ahmed Josy.

Not only his teammates, the footballers of rival outfits like Abahani and Brothers Union also have no shortage of praises for a gentleman like Badal.

"Badal was a selfless forward, who loved to feed other players to score instead of going for goal despite being in a good position. It was also tough for the goalkeepers to read him in the box as he used three to four techniques before driving the ball home," said Brothers union former goalkeeper Yousuf.

Abahani footballer Krishna Shaha said, "Outside of football, Badal was also a selfless person who always supported footballers both on-and-off the field."

"Badal Da was my contemporary. He played for Mohammedan and I played for Abahani. I still recalled his strike against Malaysia during the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi as I was his striking partner," said Sheikh Mohammad Aslam.

"He was a really cool person, who stayed calm on the ground throughout a game. Even during high-pressure matches between Mohammedan and Abahani, he never lost his cool. Even his activities or gestures never put any bad impact on the gallery. He was a true gentleman on-and-off field. After the completion of Mohammedan-Abahani matches, he used to walk out of the ground with his hands on our shoulders," recalled Aslam.

As an organiser, Roy has also been dedicated to football and always sought development at the grassroots to help football revive and come out of misery.

"Badal Da's target was to take the country's football to a certain height from its poor condition. He also wanted to improve Bangladesh's FIFA ranking by developing the youth generation but he could not achieve his target. I will request all to come forward to realize his dream to bring back the old glories of the country's football," said former national defender Kaiser Hamid.

Roy's body was cremated at the Basabo Crematorium today afternoon after organisers and officials of different national sports federations, BOA, fans, political leaders and journalists paid their last homage.