Sports Desk:

With less than a month remaining before the transfer window of the Bangladesh Premier League closes, footballers are struggling to secure suitable contracts for the upcoming 2025-26 season due to financial constraints faced by the participating clubs.

Last season’s runners-up, Abahani, have already begun their pre-season training on Thursday ahead of their AFC Challenge League encounter against Kyrgyzstan’s FC Muras United on August 12. However, other clubs — including Bashundhara Kings, who will also compete in the same tournament against Syrian outfit Al-Karamah SC–, are still in the negotiation stage with players.

Since the political changeover on August 5 last year, footballers have faced difficulties securing decent payments from clubs, many of which were forced to cut previously agreed salaries due to the absence of key officials and management reshuffles across several teams.

The withdrawals of Sheikh Jamal and Sheikh Russel from the top-tier league also left a number of recognised footballers playing for token payments. Some, including national players such as Masuk Mia Jonny, Matin Mia, and Biplu Ahmed, sat out the entire season without signing for any club.

The last season concluded on May 29, but most clubs are still struggling to secure funding to form their squads for the upcoming season. As a result, footballers are likely to receive lower payments compared to last year.

“The situation isn’t good for players overall. Most are struggling to get good offers from clubs. I’m not even sure if my former club, Brothers Union, will retain me,” said former national team forward Sazzad Hossain, who is on the lookout for a slightly better deal this time. As a professional footballer, one needs to spend nearly Tk 1.5 lakh on boots, accessories, and food, he said.

National team defenders Saad Uddin and Topu Barman said their previous club, Bashundhara Kings, have yet to begin discussions for the upcoming season. They expect talks to take place sometime next week.

“As far as I know, most clubs are planning to form low-budget squads. That means players will have to accept reduced payments again, and we really don’t have much choice,” said Saad. “Many players haven’t even received full payment from last season.”

Topu said: “The current situation is very tough for players. We sacrificed a lot last season. I believe footballers deserve better contracts, especially considering how football is slowly reviving in the country.”

Conversations with several club officials revealed that most teams have significantly reduced their budgets for the upcoming season.

Rahmatganj MFS coach Kamal Babu claimed that last season the highest payment to a local player was Tk 12 lakh while it could be at best Tk 8 lakh this season.

Rashedul Islam, manager of Fortis FC, said: “Our budget will be around 50-60 lakh less than last season. We have taken seven to eight players from BCL through trial, so that we can accommodate players with reduced budget.”

In addition, the mandatory requirement to include five U-20 players in the squad, along with the lack of restrictions on signing South Asian players, has also contributed to lower pay offers for senior players, it is believed.