Women footballers continue to bring pride to Bangladesh with their consistent achievements. Yet their financial condition remains weak. Even after helping the nation qualify for the Asia Cup, players like Afida and Rituparna receive only Tk 55,000 per month. According to the Youth and Sports Advisor, this amount should be doubled.
Sports Advisor Calls for Salary Increase for Women Footballers
A friendly football match was held today between government advisors and foreign diplomats at the Bashundhara Kings Arena. Each team had won one match previously, making today’s game the series decider. After a draw in regulation time, the match went to penalties, where diplomats’ team clinched the win.
After the game, Youth and Sports Advisor Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan spoke to the media about several issues, including athlete compensation. He highlighted that increasing salaries falls under the authority of BFF and BCB.
“We have already instructed BFF and BCB to enhance the facilities and financial benefits for female players,” he said.
He added that while BCB has already increased women’s allowances and salaries by 35%, BFF has not yet been able to raise pay because of financial constraints.
Government Looks to Fund 100% Salary Increase
The Sports Advisor acknowledged BFF’s financial struggles but insisted that change is necessary.
The salaries of women footballers are extremely low. We have asked BFF to raise them by 100%. They’ve requested funding, and we are working on it,” he stated.
Since taking over, Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan has rewarded many athletes for international success. Recently, medal winners in the Asian Archery Championship were granted Tk 10 lakh each. He confirmed that medalists from the Islamic Solidarity Games and the Kabaddi World Cup will also receive bonuses. The much-discussed Tk 2 crore reward for Bangladesh’s historic win over India has also been approved pending the federation’s list.
Another point of discussion was the Olympic Association elections. Two members of the ministry’s search committee have become candidates, prompting the National Sports Council to write to the Olympic Election Commission. The advisor commented,
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒍𝒚𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒄 𝑨𝒔𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑺𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍, 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆.”
The National Sports Council also instructed players to avoid campaigning during elections. The advisor explained,
“𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔. 𝑭𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅.”
Women Football’s popularity has surged again with the arrival of Hamza and Samit. As the current national stadium can hold only 20,000 spectators, the ministry plans to construct a 50,000-seat modern stadium in Purbachal. A request has already been sent to RAJUK and the Land Ministry. Nearby, BIDA Chairman Ashiq Chowdhury mentioned the possibility of building it under a PPP model, depending on investment viability.
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