State Minister for Youth and Sports, Aminul Haque, has expressed his plan to quickly bring national team players under a structured salary system. On Monday (23 February), he held discussions with representatives of 51 federations affiliated with the National Sports Council (NSC) regarding this initiative.
The meeting lasted nearly three hours, during which the minister emphasized professionalizing sports and ensuring proper remuneration for athletes.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Minister Haque said:
“We have requested all federations to submit a report of their activities over the past year within a week. This will help us in our evaluation and planning.”
He added that the government intends to cover the salaries of national players, stating:
“We have requested the federations to provide a list of national players. We want to bring them under the salary scheme. The government will arrange their salaries, and we will determine the grades for each player. We aim to complete this during Ramadan and implement it after Eid.”
On the topic of elections within the federations, the minister said:
“We want to conduct elections in a fair and transparent process. The election will begin at the Upazila, district, and division levels, followed by the federations.”
The NSC currently has 52 affiliated federations, while some sports have multiple federations under separate management. Minister Haque indicated plans to consolidate similar federations under a single governing body.
He further added:
“Many of the 51 federations are not functioning properly. We will investigate why. The idea of bringing federations of similar sports under one organization is under consideration.”
This initiative aims to enhance accountability, streamline management, and professionalize sports administration in the country.
