Shawdesh Desk:

Former vice-president of the Bangladesh Football Federation Tabith Awal announced on Monday that he would contest for the BFF president post in the forthcoming elections, scheduled for October 26.

Tabith made the announcement during a press conference at a city hotel a week after seasoned businessman Tarafder Ruhul Amin announced his candidacy for the same post.

Currently, Tabith and Tarafder are up for the BFF president post after incumbent president Kazi Salahuddin recently announced that he is not going to contest in the upcoming BFF elections after completing his four terms.

Tabith, who is also a businessman and an active member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, served BFF as a vice-president in 2012 and 2016 during Salahuddin’s regime, but lost to Mohiuddin Mohi in the same post in the 2020 elections.

‘I contested in the last three elections. I will contest this time too. And this time I will contest for the president’s post. I am hopeful that I will win,’ said Tabith, the chief patron of the former Bangladesh Premier League side NoFeL Sporting Club.

Tabith intended to be able to assemble a panel just before the elections, when voting councillors would provide their mandates to form a 21-member BFF executive committee.

Tabith, 45, believes that the BFF had lost some credibility among potential corporate sponsors as a result of the national

football team’s dismal recent performance.

Aside from that, the BFF has been suffering from an image crisis, particularly since FIFA banned its former general secretary, Abu Nayeem Shohag, for corruption.

‘Despite the image crisis, till date many of the country’s young people love and play football. As the standard of our national team is not appreciable, we have been suffering from a branding crisis. We have a lot to do to improve our football branding,’ he said.