Bangladesh created history by defeating India 1-0 in Dhaka on November 18 during the Asian Cup qualifiers. It was the first time in 22 years that Bangladesh beat India at the senior football level. Although the team did not qualify for the main round of the Asian Cup, Youth and Sports Advisor Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan had announced a cash prize of Tk 2 crore following this historic victory. After 22 days, the players finally received the prize money on Wednesday.
Players and Staff Receive Cash Bonuses
Bangladesh team captain Jamal Bhuiyan, manager Amer Khan, and BFF general secretary Imran Hossain Tushar received the cheques from the organization’s director of training, Laboni Chakma, at the National Sports Council building. Each of the 23 footballers who played against India, along with head coach Javier Cabrera and manager Amer, received Tk 7 lakh each. Five other members of the coaching staff were awarded Tk 5 lakh each.
National team manager Amer explained the process, saying, “A list of 40 people was given by the federation. Ibrahim and a few others were in the camp before the India match; their names were also there. Because they are part of the team. We received the checks of 30 people at the NSC today.”
Bangladesh Missing Members Raise Questions
However, some important team members were left out of the reward list. Team attendant, Md. Mohsin, who was part of the 2003 semi-final against India and the historic win 22 years later, did not receive any financial award. Similarly, video analyst Nasif Islam, who helps the coach plan strategies based on match data, was excluded. The media manager and team doctor were also not included in the bonuses.
National Sports Council Executive Director Kazi Nazrul Islam defended the decision:
“𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚.”
In comparison, the Bangladesh women’s football team, which won the SAFF championship and qualified for the Asia Cup, received bonuses along with their media manager, video analyst, and team doctor. Critics note that the lack of a clear policy for awarding men’s football teams leaves inconsistencies in how rewards are distributed.
Quotes:
- Jamal Bhuiyan: “It feels amazing to get recognized for our hard work, but some key members of our team were unfortunately left out.”
- Kazi Nazrul Islam: “The bonus distribution was based on direct involvement in the India match, as decided by the ministry.”
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