Bangladesh football has great prospect: Safwan Sobhan

Bashundhara Group Vice-Chairman, T-Sports Chairman and Managing Director and Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club Ltd President Safwan Sobhan Tasvir said that Bangladesh football has a great prospect and Bashundhara Group will provide all kinds of support to the growth and development of the country’s football.

Safwan Sobhan Tasvir said this during a ‘Logo Unveiling and Captains’ Meet’ programme of Bangladesh Premier League 2021-22, hosted by the country’s lone sports channel T-Sports, at a city hotel in the capital on Sunday.“We are hopeful about football. We want to be part of the growth and development of Bangladesh football, club football and want to invest in all kinds of facilities for it,” Bashundhara Group Vice-Chairman Safwan Sobhan Tasvir said, who was present on the occasion as the special guest.

“Our sports channel (T-Sports) starts its journey with football. We are thankful to the Bangladesh Football Federation as we have a partnership with them,” he said.

BFF President Kazi Salahuddin, BFF Senior Vice-President and Professional League Committee Chairman Abdus Salam Murshedy, MP, TVS Auto Bangladesh Managing Director J. Ekram Hussain, T-Sports CEO Ishtiaque Sadeque and captains of all 12 participating teams were also present on the occasion.

“When I was elected BFF President for the first time in 2008, some tournaments were closed for one or two years. The league was not taking place regularly, even the league was held once or twice within 10 years before that. Footballers did processions and strikes for leagues,” BFF President Salahuddin said.

“My first word was to keep football on the field. No league was cancelled in the last 12 years. Now, players can earn money and they are able to run their families. We are also continuing football amid Covid,” he said.

The day’s programme started with a documentary featuring the relationship between T-Sports and Bangladesh Football. The channel’s most popular faces Navil Khan and Rifat Masud hosted the whole programme.After the guests’ opinion session, another documentary on the Bangladesh Premier League was displayed and then all 12 captains talked about their targets in the upcoming league, scheduled to begin from February 3. The programme ended with photo sessions and a logo unveiling ceremony.

“I’m very happy to continue playing with Kings. My family, friends, who are in Brazil, are also happy with my achievements. We missed a cup this year, but that doesn’t matter for us. This is football. Sometimes we will win, sometimes we will lose. But for sure, we will win the league this year,” Bashundhara Kings captain Robson Robinho said.

“Of course, we will try to win the league. But it will be tough. Five or seven teams out of 12 will compete for the title, so the league is going to be competitive. But we will give our best,” Saif SC captain Jamal Bhuyan said.

“We are well prepared for the league. But it will not be easy, we will play for the title and hopefully, we will win it,” Dhaka Abahani captain Nabib Newaj Ziban said.

“I want to score more goals individually, but it will be better when the team will score goals. Hopefully, my team will score more goals than me in the upcoming league,” Sheikh Jamal’s Gambian captain Solomon King Kanform said.

Sheikh Russel captain Ashraful Islam Rana, Uttar Baridhara captain Md Jewel, Dhaka Mohammedan captain Souleymane Diabate, Muktijoddha Sangsad captain Tetsuaki Misawa, Police FC captain Danilo Augusto, Rahmatganj MFS captain Mahmudul Hasan Kiron, Chattogram Abahoni captain Koushik Barua and Swadhinata KS captain Sazal Islam Kolin were also talked about their goals during the logo unveiling ceremony.