Saif Sporting Club and Arambagh Krira Sangha made a good start to the season, thrashing their rivals at the 32nd Federation Cup Football 2020 on Wednesday.

In the day’s first match, Saif Sporting outplayed Uttar Baridhara Club with a 3-0 win at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

---

Read Also: Fed Cup Football: Bashundhara Kings make flying start beating Rahmatganj MFS 3-0

Ansar to play Police in Fed Cup Women's Handball final on Saturday.

---

After a barren first half, Kenneth and Foysal struck one goal each for Saif Sporting in the 63rd and 70th minutes while they took a lead in the 49th minute through an own goal scored by Baridhara’s Mahmood.

In the day’s other match, Arambagh beat Brothers Union by 2-0.

Chizoba Christopher put Arambagh ahead in the 44th minute while Murad sealed the fate of the match scoring one more goal in the 90th minute.

---

Read Also:Football season begins with Fed Cup on Dec 19

Fed Cup Football: Bashundhara Kings emerge as new champions

Fed Cup Football: Rahmatganj MFS emerge as new finalist eliminating Mohammedan SC 1-0

---

 

Defending champions and star-studded Bashundhara Kings made a flying start in the season's curtain raiser meet, the 32nd Federation Cup Football 2020, beating last season's runners-up Rahmatganj MFS by 3-0 goals in the opening match at the Bangabandu National Stadium here Tuesday.

With the day's match, country's domestic football came to the field after about nine months following the health guidelines during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Argentine footballer Raul Oscar Becerra and Brazilian booter Robson Da Silva scored one each for last three domestic soccer title winners Bashundhara Kings while the remaining one was a suicidal goal scored by Rahmatganj's Egyptian footballer Alaaeldin Nasr.

Read Also: Walton named title sponsor of Fed Cup Football beginning on Dec 22

Later, Brazilian player Robson was adjudged the best player of the match.

Argentine footballer Raul Becerra scored the season's and the Federation Cup's first goal in the 43rd minute of the match from goal mouth melee, utilizing a right wing free kick taken by Brazilian Jonathan Fernandes (1-0).

Brazilian booter Robson doubled the margin in the 54th minute by a cool chip over the advancing opponent custodian (2-0).

Read Also: Ansar to play Police in Fed Cup Women's Handball final on Saturday

The 3rd goal of the Kings was a gifted one as the Rahmatganj Egyptian player Alaaeldin sent the ball to his own net from goalmouth melee in the 65th minute while he was trying foil an attempt of Robson (3-0)

Bashundhara Kings, studded with two Brazilians, one Argentine and one Iranian booter alongside a good number of national players earned their ever biggest victory over one foreign booter based Rahmatganj MFS after dominated the match all through.

Earlier, BFF Senior Vice President Abdus Salam Murshedy MP inaugurated the meet.

---

Read Also: National School Football: All 2 matches end in goalless draws

Grouping of Federation Cup Football finalised; Abahani, Mohammedan in same group

Walton named title sponsor of Fed Cup Football beginning on Dec 22

---

 

Executive Director of Walton Group FM Iqbal bin Anwar Dawn and BFF General Secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag were present, among  others, on the occasion.

All the 13 Premier Division Football League teams, split into four groups, are taking part initially on league basis matches from December 22-30.

In the next matches on Wednesday, Saif sporting Club will play Uttar Baridhara Club at 3:15 pm while Arambagh KS will encounter Brothers Union Club at 5:45 pm.

FIFA has filed a criminal complaint against former president Sepp Blatter over the finances of its loss-making soccer museum in Zurich.

Soccer's governing body said on Tuesday it suspected “criminal mismanagement by FIFA’s former management and companies appointed by them” to work on the museum -- long seen as a pet project of Blatter’s -- in a renovated and rented city center building.

The FIFA World Football Museum opened in 2016 after $140 million of soccer money was spent refurbishing the 1970s office building to also include 34 rental apartments.

It was meant to open around May 2015, when Blatter won a fifth presidential election, but was delayed until after he left office amid pressure from American and Swiss investigations of international soccer officials.

Blatter committed FIFA to a rental contract with the building’s owner, insurance firm Swiss Life, that requires paying $360 million through 2045 at above market rates, soccer’s world body said.

FIFA said its criminal complaint following an external audit of the project was delivered by hand to canton (state) prosecutors in Zurich.

“That audit revealed a wide range of suspicious circumstances and management failures, some of which may be criminal in nature and which therefore need to be properly investigated by the relevant authorities,” FIFA deputy secretary general for administration Alasdair Bell said in a statement.

---

Read Also: Robert Lewandowski wins FIFA award as best men's player

FIFA, AFC Qualifiers: Qatar beat Bangladesh 5-0

The Zurich prosecution office acknowledged receiving the complaint without giving more details.

Blatter's lawyer, Lorenz Erni, said in a statement: “The allegations are baseless and are vehemently denied.”

Blatter risks investigation at local level while already a suspect in two criminal proceedings opened by federal prosecutors into how he spent FIFA’s money as president.

Those investigations involve FIFA paying $2 million to former UEFA president Michel Platini in 2011 and $1 million to the Trinidad and Tobago soccer body -- effectively to disgraced former FIFA vice president Jack Warner -- weeks before the Caribbean islands’ general election in 2010.

“Given the massive costs associated with this museum, as well as the general way of working of the previous FIFA management, a forensic audit was conducted in order to find out what really happened here,” Bell said.

The museum has made a loss each year including $50 million in 2016 that included one-off costs, FIFA said then in its financial report.

The most recent FIFA accounts for 2019 show almost $3.5 million revenue from the FIFA World Football Museum and $6.3 million costs for “investment and expenses.” There was a record 161,700 visitors at the Zurich building last year.

---

Read Also: FIFA President seeks speedy, complete recovery of Salahuddin

FIFA president wishes all candidates of BFF election

Coronavirus: FIFA advises BFF not to hold election

---

 

In the 2018 accounts, museum revenue was almost $4 million against $12 million in spending.

The FIFA museum was identified closely with Blatter from the time it was announced in April 2012.

His executive committee had already approved 180 million Swiss francs ($203 million) for what was being called “Project Libero,” and forecast to attract 300,000 visitors each year.

“It is high time that world football had a meeting place for its millions of fans,” Blatter said then of a museum originally to be built underground next to FIFA’s headquarters on a wooded hillside above the city.

One year later, the museum plan changed to a FIFA-funded renovation of a modernist building owned by Swiss Life.

FIFA said in a 2013 news release it signed a 40-year rental of “Haus zur Enge.” The museum would “occupy the second basement level through to the first floor” with office space and apartments on the upper levels to the ninth story.

“The FIFA museum project is a stroke of luck for Zurich and is a perfect fit for Swiss Life’s investment policy,” the insurance firm’s chairman, Rolf Dörig, said in the FIFA statement.

In a statement on Tuesday, Swiss Life said “we consider this a matter for FIFA. Therefore, we have no further comment."

When the museum formally opened on Feb. 28, 2016 it was a first public duty for the new FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, who had been elected two days earlier.

Blatter did not attend the ceremony and had begun serving a ban from soccer by FIFA’s ethics committee after Swiss authorities revealed the Platini payment in September 2015. The ban expires next October when Blatter will be 85.

FIFA said on Tuesday its files on the museum project will be sent to ethics investigators.

The complaint filed against Blatter is the latest act in a busy year in criminal investigations linked to FIFA's past and present presidents.

At least four criminal complaints were filed anonymously against Infantino and Switzerland's attorney general, Michael Lauber, about three meetings they had in 2016 and 2017. Lauber was forced from office in the fallout including misleading a committee overseeing his work.

A special prosecutor appointed by Switzerland's parliament to examine the meetings opened a case against Infantino in July. Potential charges include inciting Lauber to abuse his public office.

Blatter spoke this month with the special prosecutor, Stefan Keller.

Keller also recommended this month that federal prosecutors investigate Infantino for using a private jet on FIFA business in 2017. He could not open his own case because his remit is limited to matters involving Lauber.

FIFA said two weeks ago that Keller's “malicious and defamatory” statement "borders on character assassination."

The country’s domestic football will kick off with the season’s curtain-raiser Walton Federation Cup Football 2020 on Tuesday at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Defending champions Bashundhara Kings will play Old Dhaka’s Rahmatganj MFS in the day’s match at 5:30 pm.

Saif Sporting Club will play Uttar Baridhara Club at 3:15pm while Arambagh KS will face Brothers Union Club at 5:45pm on Wednesday.

The trophy of the tournament was unveiled at the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) office in Motijheel on Monday in the presence of the managers, head coaches and captains of the participating teams.

Read Best Walton Room Heater Price in Bangladesh

BFF Senior Vice-President Abdus Salam Murshedy MP, Walton Group Executive Director FM Iqbal Bin Anwar Dawn and BFF General Secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag were also present.

All the 13 Premier Division Football League teams, split into four groups, will compete in the tournament, which will be played on a league basis during December 22-30.

Muktijoddha Sangdad KC, which earlier showed reluctance to participate in the tournament showing financial crisis, finally managed a sponsor to compete in the meet.

Also, Brothers Union Club, which failed to submit the list of their registered players within time, got permission to participate in the competition.

Apart from tournament’s title sponsor Walton Group, Premier Bank, and IFIC Bank are the co-sponsor of the meet organised by BFF.

Also read: Walton named title sponsor of Fed Cup Football beginning on Dec 22

Earlier, drawing of the groups for the tournament was finalised at the BFF office last week through a programme.

Arch-rivals Dhaka Abahani and Dhaka Mohammedan were placed in Group D with Muktijoddha SKC, while league champions Bashundhara Kings were put in Group C along with Chattogram Abahani and Rahmatganj MFS.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals.

Also read: Grouping of Federation Cup Football finalised; Abahani, Mohammedan in the same group

The champions will receive Tk5 lakh, and the runners-up will get Tk3 lakh as prize money. Also, all the 13 participating teams will get Tk2 lakh as appearance money.

About the tickets prices of the matches, the BFF said VIP tickets will cost Tk50, and it will take Tk20 to enjoy the matches from the gallery.

Also read: National School Football: All 2 matches end in goalless draws

A limited number of spectators will be allowed to witness the matches at the stadium following health guidelines.

Denmark-born Bangladesh national football team captain Jamal Bhuiyan tested negative for Covid-19 in Qatar on Saturday.

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), in a media  release on Sunday said, Jamal Bhuiyan tested negative on Saturday and he would come back home soon.

Also read: Bangladesh football captain Jamal Bhuiyan catches Covid-19

With the development, the chance of Jamal Bhuiyan to play for Kolkata Mohammedan in the Indian I-League beginning January 9, has now brightened.

Also read: 3 national football coaches, captain Jamal Bhuiyan arrive in Dhaka

Earlier, Bangladesh national football team returned home from Qatar in the first week of this month after playing their FIFA World Cup' 2022 and AFC Asian Cup'2023 joint qualifiers against hosts Qatar on December 4, but captain Jamal Bhuiyan stayed there for a few days for personal reasons.

Also read: Booter Jamal Bhuiyan ties the knot

Later, Bangladesh midfielder cum captain Jamal Bhuiyan underwent Covid-19 test on December 10 in Doha before he flew to Bangladesh. The test result came out positive although he has no symptoms.

Also read: Jamal Bhuiyan banned for one match for breaching code of conduct

So, the Bangladesh captain went to self-isolation at a hotel in Doha and the BFF has been in close touch with Qatar Football Association to provide all sorts of assistance to him.

Also read: Maradona will always remain in our heart: Jamal