Problem-plagued Arambagh return to football after three years

Once giant-killers, Arambagh Krira Sangha today returned to football after overcoming numerous challenges in the last three years. The traditional outfit was demoted to the third-tier competition from the top-tier following their involvement in live betting, spot-fixing, match manipulation, and online betting in 2021.

Arambagh -- having last played their Bangladesh Premier League fixture in August 2021 before being punished by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) in accordance with the AFC's and a probe committee's findings in the same month -- began their Senior Division Football League campaign in style.

The two-time Federation Cup runners-up and 2017-18 Independence Cup champions secured a comprehensive 4-0 victory against Swadhinata KS at Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium on Tuesday, aiming to rebuild their image and stay in the country's football scene for a long time.

Although Arambagh, established in 1958, played top-tier football with admirable performances against top teams like Mohammedan Sporting Club, Abahani, Brothers Union, and Muktijoddha Sangad KS, they started struggling to form their squad after falling into the casino scandal in late 2019.

In a quest to overcome financial constraints, little-known organizer Minhazul Islam was given the responsibility as the club president. However, Minhazul sank Arambagh by involving its players, foreign coaching staff, and club officials in betting and fixing incidents.

As a result, the club was found guilty of the allegations and was relegated to the third-tier league for two successive seasons. FIFA also banned the club from registering local players due to their inability to clear the wages of Brazilian coach Douglas Silva Dos Santos.

"Only the people who are involved with the club know how we have struggled to have a fresh start in the last three years. It has been possible because the supporters of Arambagh still love football and the club, which once produced many promising players," Arambagh general secretary Md Yaqub Ali told The Daily Star on Tuesday.

He informed that they have cleared more than Tk 37 lakh, including unpaid wages of coach Douglas, some players, and rent for a house for the training camp of the 2021 season.

"It was a mistake to give the responsibility to Minhazul, who took advantage of our financial problems, but we don't want to give the responsibility to people outside the club," said Yaqub.

Yaqub further mentioned that they are excited about the fresh start as many inhabitants of the Arambagh area went to the stadium to watch the return of Arambagh KS in football.

"We formed a strong squad with an estimated budget of Tk 45 lakh after getting hope for financial help from Bashundhara Group. We are expecting to advance to the Bangladesh Championship League by finishing top in the 18-team senior division league," informed Yaqub, adding that they want to play in the second-tier Bangladesh Championship League for a few seasons with the capability of supporting a Bangladesh Champions League (BCL) squad rather than a Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) squad.