Md. Asaduzzaman, widely known in the sports world as a professional boxing promoter, recently surprised everyone by announcing his venture into football organization. He initially promised to bring Brazil’s World Cup-winning captain Cafu to Dhaka and later added Argentine star Canizia to the event lineup. However, it has now emerged that neither of the football legends will attend, leaving fans and the media disappointed.
On the day of the press conference, journalists repeatedly asked Cafu for confirmation, and he initially reassured them. Yet, yesterday he admitted:
“𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔; 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆.”
The organizers had set high ticket prices for the anticipated presence of Cafu and Canizia, raising concerns in the football community that the event was being used as a business venture rather than a genuine sporting celebration.
Mismanagement and Journalist Harassment Overshadow Event
The ongoing tri-nation series featuring teams from Brazil, Argentina, and Bangladesh has been marred by poor organization. A match between Bangladesh’s Rising Stars and an Argentine club ended in chaos when a journalist was physically attacked by security personnel assigned by the organizers.
“𝑵𝒐 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒂 𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒂 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆,” 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚.
In response, the National Sports Council suspended the venue allocation for the December 11 match, citing multiple violations, including poor management and journalist harassment. They also demanded that organizers submit a full accounting of ticket sales, sponsorship funds, and publicity revenues, along with 50 percent of the collected money, by 4 pm.
Questions Over Use of National Logos and Betting Risks Cafu
Although the teams were formed from lower-level clubs in Brazil and Argentina, the online broadcasts prominently displayed the logos and names of the national teams. The amateur match attracted over a million live viewers, prompting concerns that the event could be exploited for online betting purposes.
The use of the National Stadium for amateur competitions has also raised eyebrows, especially since traditional Bangladeshi teams often struggle to secure venues, and events like the Asian Archery Championship have had to be relocated mid-tournament. The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is now under scrutiny for approving the series and forming an age-based team for the event.
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