Second phase starts April 30

Bangladesh Football Federation on Thursday decided to start the second phase of the Bangladesh Premier League on April 30, a day after the end of the countrywide lockdown imposed by the government to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The second phase of the BPL was supposed to get underway on April 9 after the completion of the first-phase league matches on March 7. The league was suspended for one month due to the mid-term transfers and national football team’s international engagement in Nepal. The BFF’s resumption plan was halted after the lockdown started on April 7. A few of the clubs wanted to start the league after the completion of Bashundhara Kings’ and Abahani Limited’s AFC Cup engagements in May and the national football team’s commitment in the World Cup Qualifiers’ in Qatar in June. But most of the clubs wanted to play some matches before Eid-ul-Fitr vacation in May.

Considering all aspects, the meeting of the professional football league committee chaired by BFF senior vice-president Abdus Salam Murshedy decided to start the league on April 30 as well as play three to four rounds before the Kings and Abahani leave for the Maldives to play in the AFC Cup. The local games governing body also submitted a letter to the ministry of youth and sports seeking approval to hold the professional league from April 30 without spectators and by maintaining the health guidelines at all four venues in and around Dhaka.