Mejbahuddin appointed as chief election commissioner for BFF polls

Ahead of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) elections set for 26 october, the executive committee has formed a three-member election commission.

Having first taken on the role in 2008, Mejbahuddin will now be serving his fifth consecutive term. Joining him on the election commission are Suraiya Akter Jahan, a former additional secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, and Supreme Court lawyer Ehsanur Rahman.

The meeting also finalised the list of 133 councillors who will vote in the upcoming elections. Following a hearing on 2 october, four districts—Feni, Gopalganj, Lalmonirhat, and Sherpur—were excluded from the final list. Additionally, due to ongoing legal cases, the applications from Jessore and Satkhira were not accepted.

To investigate councillorship disputes, the BFF had earlier appointed former election commissioner Mohammad Zakaria as head of a review committee. Zakaria will also chair the BFF election appeals commission, alongside two other former election commission officials, Harunur Rashid and Mihir Sarwar Morshed.

During the meeting, it was also confirmed that the Bangladesh national team would play an international friendly match during the FIFA November window. The budget for Bangladesh's participation in the SAFF Women's Championship in Nepal this month was approved, along with the renovation of the BFF headquarters under the AFC Stadium Project. Outgoing BFF president Kazi Salahuddin presided over the meeting, which saw 10 members attending in person and four joining online.

The BFF has recently faced internal changes following the government's downfall on 5 august. Salam Murshedy, the federation's senior vice-president, resigned and was later arrested. Vice-presidents Kazi Nabil Ahmed, Mohiuddin Ahmed, Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan, and member Nurul Islam have also remained absent from BFF activities.