Bangladesh is stepping into a professional era in futsal. Ahead of the upcoming AFC Futsal Asian Cup qualifiers, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has, for the first time, appointed a foreign coach for this discipline. Iranian coach Saeid Khodarahmi has been hired for a three-month period.
Bangladesh will participate in the qualifiers to be held in Malaysia this September. Coach Khodarahmi emphasized a realistic approach, stating:
“I won’t promise any unrealistic dreams. If we all work together, something good is possible. We all know where Bangladesh stands in futsal, so it’s best to keep expectations accordingly.”
Though Bangladesh lacks a full-fledged futsal infrastructure, BFF will conduct training camps at either the Mirpur Indoor Stadium or the National Handball Stadium. A trial process has already shortlisted 53 players. Some expatriate footballers are on the radar, but most are focused on traditional football.
From this preliminary pool, the coach will further select 24 players, from which a final squad of 14 will be formed.
BFF President Tabith Awal remarked,
“This journey will be a long one. There’s no turning back now. United, we will reach our goals. In the future, a futsal league will be launched similar to the traditional grass-pitch format. We’re beginning with the men’s team now and plan to include a women’s team later.”
Despite several limitations, Bangladesh’s futsal journey begins—bringing with it a ray of new hope.
