SAARC players in local league: boon or bane?

Although touted to be experimental, the idea of allowing professional players from SAARC nations in the region has triggered a debate among football fans, experts and coaches.

While the approach, if implemented fully, will solidify regional football fraternity, the truth is, in the end, we need to consider what Bangladesh will get out of this. For starters, after a long time, the local league games will see the rising presence of regional players - a common feature in the mid 80s and the 90s, along with the inclusion of foreign based ones, either from Africa, South America or Central Asia. This means, in general terms, we may be looking at club outfits featuring mostly players from outside Bangladesh.

SAARC nation players to be treated as 'local': Reportedly, the players from other nations within SAARC may be treated as 'local' players, whereas recruits from countries outside the region will be deemed foreign players. However, to the local football followers, a player from India, Nepal or Sri Lanka will always be a foreigner because when the South Asian regional competition is held in the future, these players will go to represent their respective national sides.

There is nothing wrong in roping in regional talent since their salaries will be considerably lower to players imported from African nations.
With many premier division clubs at the mid or bottom of the table grappling with retrenchment policies, this will save money while bringing skilled players.

South Asian footballers in Bangladesh league goes back to the early 80s. Starting from 1981, top club side,Abahani, fielded Sri Lankan football star,Pakir Aly, as a regular team member. However, he was fielded as a foreign recruit. In 1985, another Lanka, Premlal came to Abahani.

Pakir Aly played for Abahani for seven years at a stretch and so much was his bond with the fans, club and Bangladesh that he, at one interview, underlined his desire to take Bangladeshi nationality and represent the national side. However, that did not materialise in the end. At about the same time, Nepalese player Ganesh Thapa, who later served as president of the Nepalese Football Federation, ANFA, played for Mohammedan, Dhaka Wanderers and Rahamatganj MFS.

At the twilight of his career, Indian football star of the 70s and 80s, Shabbir Ali, who was a key player of the Indian youth team, which won the Asian Youth Championship jointly with Iran in 1974, played for Dhaka first division mid-level team, Victoria Sporting. In the mid 90s, Nepalese football stars HadiKhadka and Baal Gopal Mahajan played in the local league but all these players were recruited under the foreign player quota.

If any leading team fielded a regional player then it was under the foreign player quota.Usually, one regional player was supported by two other foreign players, fulfilling the quota. Meanwhile, smaller teams, which could afford only one or two imported players, mixed up the foreign players with their local ones, often not needing (or willing) to use up their full foreign quota privilege. But the 70s and 80s were a different time.

The top league, called the first division football league, was not professional and the total budget of a team aspiring to contend for the trophy varied between Tk. 60 and Tk. 70 lakh. This was a period when smaller teams in the first division, like Chlontika, Dilkhusha, Agrani Bank, ShadharonBima usually had maximum Tk. 25 lakh for forming the full team.

As a result, the mid-level and lower sides of the tournament did not rely too much on imported footballers, concentrating more on local ones. This opened up a chance for young talented strikers, mid-fielders, defenders to hone their skills, become confident in their positions and compete with foreign recruits for spots at top clubs.

Even if they missed the chance to play for leading clubs, they were always the first choice in the selection of the national team. Now if so many foreign players are allowed to play, the space for local talent to perfect their skills will become limited.One does not need to be a football expert to see the downside.

One coach, defending maximum number of foreign players, is believed to have said that if local players cannot improve they will not be allowed to play and, therefore, they must become more skilled. Commenting on this sentiment, MazharulMithun, a former player, said: "this observation completely ignores the fundamentals of football development. How can a player improve, if he is not given the chance to play and develop?"

With an injection of money from sponsors, most clubs now eye foreign players who have already made a name playing in their respective positions, he adds."Bangladeshi players who come from outside Dhaka will be forced to go back because clubs will be unwilling to take rookie footballers." Nabisco, a footballer who played in the pioneer and third division in the 80s, observes: "thirty five or forty years ago, the pioneer division football was the pipeline for talent. Those who caught attention were taken by third and second division teams."

SAARC nation players to be treated as 'local': Reportedly, the players from other nations within SAARC may be treated as 'local' players, whereas recruits from countries outside the region will be deemed foreign players. However, to the local football followers, a player from India, Nepal or Sri Lanka will always be a foreigner because when the South Asian regional competition is held in the future, these players will go to represent their respective national sides.

These players have already perfected their game in their own country and head overseas when they feel they are ready to shine in overseas leagues."Same goes for the footballers from the region! They are already established players and, once taken by local teams, will block a spot, which could have gone to a rising local player, Mamun observes. The most rational comment on the idea of fielding SAARC players as 'local' was made by former striker and currently the coach of Mohammedan SC,Alfaz Ahmed.

He opposed the plan of using regional players as 'local' saying this would limit the scope for Bangladeshi footballers. Former Mohammedan and national team custodian, Sayeed Hassan Kanon,supported the idea of including players from SAARC nations, with a caveat:"the number should be limited to one or two."

Forgetting the impact on the national team: The national side, already suffering from the absence of a proper striker, will be devastated if regional players are given the privilege to play as local footballers. The Bangladesh team has not had any consistent goal scorer since 2009 when Ameli went into retirement.

In the golden age of football when Bangladesh was a formidable South Asian side, starting from the 70s, there were no dearth of strikers and midfielders: Ashish, Salahuddin, Chunnu, Amily, Salam, Badal, Aslam, Rumi, Nakib, Mamun Joardar were all foxes in the box and were cool headed assassins within the opposition's half.

They came to the national side having already secured their spots in the club side, which was done not by developing in isolation, but through regular matches over a period of several years, playing from small to bigger clubs.

Once, a former president of the Bangladesh Football Federation, also an eminent striker for a leading club and the national side, said during a press conference that any local player should know how to compete with foreign ones and secure his spot in the club team. True, but the player has to be given a chance to develop his skills.The former president may have forgotten that as a rising player, he also perfected his skills representing Dilkusha and Wari.

If we go back to June, this year, and watch Bangladesh's Asian Cup Qualifying match against Singapore on home soil, the absence of a reliable striker will become evident. On that day, several other nations played their matches and almost every team playing on home soil won. Just to give a clear picture: Sri Lanka, ranked 200 hosted 166th ranked Chinese Taipei and through a scintillating performance of the team's expat players, won 3-1.

Myanmar won at home against Pakistan. Brunei, playing at home against Bhutanand Laos hosting Nepal won their respective matches while Hong Kong, playing at home against India won through a last minute goal.Only Bangladesh lost their home match, and one of the key reasons for the defeat was the absence of a scorer. The national side desperately needs a few goal scorers and unless local players are given the chance to play in that position, Bangladesh will always play well but will fail to score.

With a striker, any team can make a comeback even after conceding two goals but for Bangladesh, the comebacks in recent times have become rare. The national side will be playing two friendlies against Nepal in September before taking on Hong Kong at home in October. Whatever the result in Kathmandu, in Dhaka, they will desperately need to secure a point, because the fervour around the national side, triggered by the inclusion of expat Bangladeshis like Hamza Choudhury, ShamitShome will fizzle out if the team fails to either win or at least secure a draw.

Keeping all these in mind, the authorities must take a decision, not keeping club prestige in mind but the honour of the national side.