Saif SC leaves football

Bangladesh Premier League Club Saif Sporting Club has decided to pull out of all football-related activities citing global economic reasons.

Saif SC issued a letter signed by their Chairman, Tarafder MD Ruhul Saif, to the President of Bangladesh Football Federation, Kazi Salahuddin, on Wednesday afternoon, which mentioned the global situation of trade and commerce to be the reason.

“They issued a letter to the BFF President which said they were going to withdraw from all footballing activities temporarily. BPL club Saif Sporting Ltd and their youth teams, one of which plays in the second division of Bangladesh, will not be participating in any footballing activities,” BFF General Secretary, Abu Nayem Shohag, said.

“They mentioned the global situation of trade and commerce as the reason. Considering this, they brought forward their inability to continue and said that it’s not possible for them to focus on football-related activities,” he added.

Saif SC made their way to the top-flight of Bangladesh football in 2017 after becoming runners-up in the Bangladesh Championship League in the previous season. Since then, they have spent five seasons in the top-flight and finished third in the recently concluded 2021-22 season.

Shohag explained the role of BFF in relation to Saif’s withdrawal.

“We follow the club Licensing procedures. This allows clubs to decide on whether to go forward or discontinue on a season-wise basis. According to that, the club licensing window will open for next season, and BFF’s responsible body, the first-instance body, will take decisions after the window closes. Clubs will apply, and we will get to know the participating teams in the BPL. We will know which teams will play in the next season of the BPL once the window closes,” he said.

“First of all, in every season, BPL teams are not guaranteed a spot in the league. We follow the club licensing procedure, which allows the clubs to apply for a spot for a specific season. BFF approves applications and provides licensing to the clubs to play in the BPL or the BCL,” he added.