Kamalapur, Sylhet venues open to all sports under BFF stewardship

 
The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has formally taken charge of the management, maintenance and security of Kamalapur's Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mostafa Kamal Stadium and Sylhet District Stadium, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Sports Council (NSC) on Tuesday.

The handover formalises an earlier government decision to entrust the two venues to the BFF, with the federation now assuming responsibility for keeping the facilities operational and secure.

The stadiums, however, will not become exclusive football fiefdoms. Other sports federations will also be able to use the venues with NSC approval, while the BFF has pledged to extend cooperation whenever such permission is granted.

"We want to do this kind of work. We will complete the work with funds from FIFA, AFC and sponsors, and do so with the NSC's permission," BFF president Tabith Awal said at the signing ceremony.

He stressed that clarity over the respective responsibilities was essential to prevent miscommunication.

"Let the stadiums be open for use by all federations. The Bangladesh Football Federation will look after maintenance and security," Tabith said. 

He added, "These stadiums are for all sports, not for any particular federation."

He expressed hope that successful management of the two facilities could persuade the NSC to entrust other sports federations with the stewardship of additional sporting venues in future.

Youth and Sports State Minister Md Aminul Haque, the chief speaker at the ceremony, said the country's sporting landscape had entered a new chapter, with the government taking several initiatives during its first six months in office.

"We have started from zero," Haque said, adding that the NSC had already drawn up a design and action plan aimed at restoring a proper sporting environment across the country's stadiums.