Salahuddin’s dream comes true

Kazi Salahuddin, the four-time president of South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), has had his long-cherished dream fulfilled as the SAFF Club Championship is finally taking shape.

The Bangladesh Football Federation president, who took the helm of the regional football body in 2009, floated the idea of having a UEFA Champions League-like event in the South Asian region for more than a decade. However, the idea failed to take any shape thus far due to lack of interest from sponsors till now. But in Saturday's SAFF Ordinary Congress in Dhaka, the SAFF executive committee decided in principle to hold the championship from next year.

Speaking to reporters after the congress, Salahuddin said that the championship will start from the middle of next year on a home and away basis. The details of the championship, however, will be chalked out following research and discussions among the member associations, he said.

"I have been working for the last few years for this championship. Once we confirmed the age-group competitions, my dream was to make the club championship happen and everyone gave their consent in today's executive committee meeting. So this makes me delighted," the four-time SAFF president said.

The BFF boss, however, said that he would have liked to see the men's football team in the next Asian Games.

Bangladesh men's team had made it to the Round of 16 for the first time in 2018 Jakarta Games after beating Qatar in the group's final match last time around. However, Bangladesh Olympic Association, on Saturday, decided not to send the men's team in the upcoming games, citing lack of performance.

When asked about his reaction on the issue, Salahuddin said he didn't know about the decision, and he would have preferred to see the men's team alongside the women at the continent's biggest multi-sport event.