1.
Introduction
·
Club License, which shall be
granted by Bangladesh Football Federation, is required for clubs to be eligible
for participating in the Bangladesh Premier League.
·
The Club Licensing Regulations for
Bangladesh Premier League (The BPL Club Licensing Regulations) defines the
criteria and procedure, which clubs must comply with to apply and obtain
license.
2.
Objectives
The
BPL Club Licensing Regulations have the following objectives-
·
Establishing reliability,
credibility and integrity of the Bangladesh Premier League along with the clubs
participating in the competition.
·
Promotion and continuous
improvement of standards of all the aspects of football in Bangladesh.
·
Ensuring qualified coaches are
engaged in training of the players in each Bangladesh Premier League
participating club with the overall aim to improve the standard and quality of
the matches.
·
Ensuring every Bangladesh Premier
League participating clubs implicates a youth team in its set up and the youth
team regularly competes in official competitions in Bangladesh.
·
Ensuring adequate facilities for
the Bangladesh Premier League participating clubs.
·
Improving the overall management
organization of the clubs in Bangladesh and making them more efficient,
productive and transparent.
·
Improving the economic and
financial standings of the Bangladesh Premier League participating clubs and
generating revenues through effective marketing & commercial exploitation
by the clubs.
3.
LICENSOR
A. WHO
IS THE LICENSOR?
·
BFF is the licensor in Bangladesh.
·
BFF as the licensor is legally
authorized to draft, finalize and issue the license to any applicant that seeks
to get the license.
·
BFF governs the licensing system,
appoints the corresponding licensing bodies and fix the necessary processes.
·
BFF guarantees the license
applicant (club) full confidentiality with regards to information given by the
license applicant during the licensing process.
·
Anyone involved in the licensing
process or appointed by BFF will ensure confidentiality of the tasks
undertaken.
B.
DECISION MAKING BODIES
BFF
has 2 decisions making bodies to decide on the application and hearing appeals
on the granting of license to the applicants. These 2 decision making bodies
are-
i. First Instance Body (FIB)
a) A Committee formed by BFF shall be the First Instance Body (FIB) for
the Club Licensing.
b) The FIB of BFF decides on whether a license should be granted to an
applicant club on the basis of the documents provided and in accordance of the
BPL Club Licensing Regulations at the submission deadline.
ii. Appeals Body (AB)
a)
The Appeal Committee of BFF acts
as the Appeals Body (AB) of BFF for the BPL club licensing regulations.
b)
The AB of BFF decides on appeals
submitted in writing and makes a final and binding decision on whether a
license should be granted.
c)
Appeals may be lodged by-
i.
The license applicant club, who
received the refusal of the FIB
ii. The licensee club, whose license has been withdrawn by the FIB
iii. BFF, the assigned body of which must be defined (e.g. BFF Licensing
Administration)
d)
The AB makes its decision based on
the decision of the FIB and all the evidence provided by the license applicant
club or licensee club or BFF with its request for appeal.
C.
LICENSING ADMINISTRATION
a)
The Licensing Administration of
BFF is responsible for all the administrative matters relating to BPL Club
Licensing Regulations.
b)
The Licensing Administration is
responsible for:
i.
Preparing, implementing and
further developing BPL Club Licensing Regulations
ii. Providing administrative support to the decision making bodies
iii. Assisting, advising and monitoring the licensed clubs during the season
c)
All persons involved in the
licensing process must comply with strict confidentiality rules regarding
information received during licensing procedure.
d)
The Licensing Administration will
not be influenced or affected by the decision-making bodies in any aspects.
D.
SEASON FOR PARTICIPATING CLUBS OF BANGLADESH PREMIER LEAGUE
Season
for participating clubs of Bangladesh Premier League is defined as one cycle of
all competitions those, which are designated for them that usually commences in
the month of October and usually concludes in the month of July in the next
calendar year. (e.g. - Season
for participating clubs of Bangladesh Premier League 2013-14 commences in
August 2013 and concludes in July 2014).
4.
LICENCE APPLICANT AND LICENCE
A.
DEFINITION OF LICENSE APPLICANT
A
license applicant is defined as a football club that applies to BFF to get a
license to participate in the Bangladesh Premier League. The football club must
be a registered legal entity as per Bangladesh national Law.
An
individual or a natural person cannot apply for a license.
B.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LICENSE APPLICANT
The
license applicant is responsible for ensuring that BFF is provided with all
necessary information and/or documents relevant to proving that the licensing
obligations are fulfilled, as these obligations relate to the criteria set out
under the club licensing regulations.
C. LICENSE
A
license is a right given by BFF to the football club to participate in the
Bangladesh Premier League for the upcoming season. Once the license applicant
has been granted with a license by BFF, it becomes a licensee, i.e. an entity
having a license to participate in the Bangladesh Premier League.
The
principles governing the License are:
a)
BFF issues the license according
to the provisions of the BPL Club Licensing Regulations.
b)
BFF will issue an invitation in
writing to the football clubs to apply for a license. The club applying for a
license (i.e. license applicant) must submit a written application to BFF. In
this application, the club must, in particular, declare that it will fulfill
the obligations of the licensing system.
c)
Only clubs, which fulfill the
criteria set out in the BPL Club Licensing Regulations at the deadlines, may be
granted a license by BFF to enter into the Bangladesh Premier League season.
d)
A license expires without prior
notice:
i.
at the end of Bangladesh Premier
league season for which it was issued, or
ii. On dissolution of the Bangladesh Premier League.
e)
License may be withdrawn during a
season by BFF or its decision making bodies if:
i.
For any reason a licensee becomes
insolvent and enters into liquidation during the season, as determined by the
Bangladesh National Law: or
ii. any of the conditions for the issuing of a license are no longer
satisfied; or
iii. The licensee violates any of its obligations under the BPL Club
licensing regulations.
f)
A license cannot be transferred.
5. CORE
PROCESS
This
article defines the details of process that BFF undertakes before deciding if a
license applicant can be a granted a license or not.
A.
PRINCIPLE
BFF
defines the core process for the verification of the criteria described in this
regulations and thus to control the issuance of a license to a license
applicant club.
The
core process is aimed at –
a)
Establishing an appropriate and
efficient licensing process according to its needs and requirements
b)
Ensuring that the decision of the
granting of club license is made by the appropriate decision making body (FIB
and/or AB)
c)
Ensuring that the decision making
bodies receive adequate support from the Licensing Administration of BFF
B.PROCESS
The
core process of licensing implementations is as follows-
a)
BFF will announce the ‘BPL Club
Licensing Regulations’ to any club who wishes to participate in the Bangladesh
Premier League and will explain the terms, criteria and the requirements to be
fulfilled by the applicant clubs as part of the club licensing regulations.
b)
License Applicants should start
the process of fulfilling and implementing the criteria in their respective
clubs immediately after BFF has explained the terms, criteria and the
requirements they need to fulfill to acquire the license.
c)
The BFF Licensing Administration
will closely monitor and follow up on the License Applicants in fulfilling the
criteria. If necessary, the BFF Licensing Administration will visit the License
Applicants and provide them with any kind of information or assistance that the
License Applicant needs.
d) License Applicants need to submit their written application for the
license along with the required supporting documents to BFF in order to prove
compliance with the licensing criteria. The last date for submission of the
application along with the supporting documents for participating in the
upcoming season for the clubs of Bangladesh Premier League will be 21st July 2014. No
applications will be accepted after 21st
July 2014.
e)
Licensing Administration of BFF
will assess the documents submitted by the license applicant clubs to verify
their compliance with the criteria once the License Applicants submit the
application along with the supporting documents.
f) Licensing Administration of BFF will forward the license application
along with the supporting documents to the FIB by 23rd July 2014.
g)
The First Instance Body (FIB) of
BFF will decide on whether a license should be granted to the applicant club on
the basis of the documents provided and in accordance of the BPL Club Licensing
Regulations 31st July 2014.
i.
If the FIB accepts the application
and decides on issuing the license, the decision will be conveyed to the
license applicant club in writing within 3 days of the acceptance;
ii. If the FIB refuses to issue the license, the decision will be conveyed
to the license applicant in writing along with the reason for refusal within 3
days of the refusal;
h)
On refusal of the license, the
applicant club can lodge an appeal to General Secretary of BFF against the
refusal. The appeal should be made in writing along with the supporting
documents and evidence within 7 days of the receipt of refusal from BFF. It shall
be complied by Licensing Administration and forwarded to AB of BFF.
i)
The AB will examine the
application, supporting documents and submitted evidence to make a decision on
the issuing or refusing a license by 12th August 2014.
i.
If the AB accepts the application
and decides on issuing the license, the decision will be conveyed to the
license applicant club in writing within 3 days of the acceptance;
ii. If the AB refuses to issue the license, the decision will be conveyed
to the license applicant in writing along with the reason for refusal within 3
days of the refusal;
BFF ensures equal treatment to all license applicant clubs
during the core process.
6.
CRITERIA
6.1
SPORTING CRITERIA
One
of the most important attributes of a successful football club is to have a
base of players having all the necessary technical and sporting skills. It is
necessary that the players have the strength, endurance, skills and motivation
to play good quality football and bring positive results for the club on the
field. The benefit of having sporting criteria is encouraging the clubs to
produce and continuously develop good quality players for the first team.
Also,
an important aspect of sporting criteria is the youth development in the club.
If the club wants to improve its elite team/first team, it needs to focus on
its youth football. It takes a lot of efforts and time to develop young talent
and make them technically good footballers. It is important to attract more and
more young players towards football and the first step in this is through
having a good youth development set up at the club level.
The objectives of the sporting criteria are-
a)
Continuous production &
development of skilled players for the club
b)
Investment of clubs into youth
development
c)
Encourage education (football
& non-football) among the youth players
d)
Encourage youth players to adopt a
fair play policy on & off the pitch
6.1.1 HEAD COACH OF THE FIRST TEAM
The
license applicant club must have appointed a Head Coach for its first team, who
is responsible for all the football matters of the first team.
The Head Coach must:
a)
Hold at least a valid AFC ‘B’
Certificate or any valid coaching qualification that is equivalent to AFC ‘B’
that is recognized by BFF and AFC;
b)
Be appointed by the executive body
or the club secretariat of the license applicant club through a written
agreement endorsed by the head of club administration;
Submission to BFF
The
club must submit to BFF the name and the CV of the Head Coach of the first
team. The club must also submit a copy of his coaching qualification/coaching
certificate along with an appointment letter or an employment contract stating
the appointment of the person as the head coach of the first team of the club.
BFF would verify the documents to confirm the appointment.
6.1.2 ASSISTANT COACH OF THE FIRST
TEAM
The
license applicant club must have appointed an Assistant Coach for its first
team, who is responsible for assisting the Head Coach in all the football
matters of the first team.
The Assistant Coach must:
a)
Hold at least a valid AFC ‘C’
Certificate or any valid coaching qualification that is equivalent to AFC ‘C’
that is recognized by BFF and AFC;
b)
Be appointed by the executive body
or the club secretariat of the license applicant club through a written
agreement endorsed by the head of club administration;
Submission to BFF
The
club must submit to BFF the name and the CV of the Assistant Coach of the first
team. The club must also submit a copy of his coaching qualification/coaching
certificate along with an appointment letter or an employment contract stating
the appointment of the person as the assistant coach of the first team of the
club.
BFF
would verify the coaching certificates and the CV to confirm the authenticity.
6.1.3 PARTICPATION IN YOUTH
COMPETITION(S)
The
license applicant club must have at least one youth team within the age range
of U-18 that participates in all the youth competition(s) organized by
BFF in the national, regional or local level in Bangladesh. The youth team
should also participate in any youth development activities organized by BFF.
The
youth team in the above mentioned age range should have regular training before
and during the youth competition(s) and must be coached by a coaching personnel
having at least minimum coaching qualification as defined by BFF.
Submission to BFF
The
club needs to provide a signed undertaking in writing stating its commitment to
participate in all the youth competitions organized by BFF. The undertaking
should specifically imply that the club would be fielding its U-18 team in all
the youth competitions organized by BFF.
6.2
INFRASTRUCTURE CRITERIA
Today,
the game of football and even a competition has become an event and for an
event to be successful, it should be held in good infrastructure conditions.
Therefore a football match should be organized in good stadiums with all the
adequate facilities for the players, officials and most importantly for the
spectators.
Also
for a club, infrastructure criteria should be seen as a long-term investment. It
helps in attracting more fans to the stadium, creating a match atmosphere and
generating a revenue base too. Therefore, clubs in coordination with BFF,
government and the local community should ensure that they have an access to a
stadium that is attractive, safe, secured, hygienic and easy to access for the
fans.
The objectives of the infrastructure
criteria are-
a)
Clubs have access to a stadium
that is approved by BFF for Bangladesh Premier League that provides necessary
and adequate facilities for the players, officials and spectators;
b)
Clubs have suitable training
facilities for their players to help them improve their technical skills;
6.2.1 HOME PLAYING FIELD (Optional
for BPL Clubs)
The
BPL clubs may either own or have a guaranteed access to a Home Playing Field
that is considered as its home venue for the Bangladesh Premier League matches.
The playing field must be of minimum size as indicated in
the FIFA Laws of the Game.
The
Home Playing Field must have adequate:
a)
Dressing rooms for players (home
team & away team);
b)
Referees room;
c)
Media facilities (for print, radio
& TV);
d)
Medical room;
Submission to BFF
The
club must submit to BFF the name and address of the Home Playing Field along
with the agreement with the owner of the Home Playing Field stating guaranteed
access to the club as its Home Playing Field for the Bangladesh Premier League
matches. If the Club owns the Home Playing Field, it must submit the documents
proving its ownership.
BFF would verify the documents and visit the field to
confirm the venues.
6.2.2 TRAINING FACILITIES
The
club must either own or have a guaranteed access to Training Field / Training
Facilities that is available throughout the year where the players of the club
can train on a regular basis.
The Training Field must have adequate:
a)
Full Size football pitch of good
quality;
b)
Balls, cones, bibs, goal post and
other necessary training equipment’s;
c)
Shower room for players;
d)
Gymnasium;
Submission to BFF
The
club must submit to BFF the name and address of the Training Field along with
the agreement with the owner of the Training Field stating guaranteed access to
the club as its Training Field for the entire year. If the Club owns the
Training Field, it must submit to BFF the documents proving its ownership.
BFF
would verify the documents and visit the field to confirm the venue of the
training field.
6.2.3 CLUB SECRETARIAT
The
club must either own or have a guaranteed access to an office space to conduct
its administrative task. The club administration must be based in this office
space.
The
administrative office must be equipped with all the necessary communication
facilities such as telephone, fax, computer, internet, email, etc.
Submission to BFF
The
club must submit to BFF the name and address of the club secretariat along with
the agreement with the owner of the office space stating guaranteed access to
the club as its secretariat to conduct all its administrative tasks. The club
must submit all the relevant contact details of the club secretariat.
If
the Club owns the office space, it must submit to BFF the documents proving its
ownership.
BFF would verify the documents and visit the office space
to confirm the facility.
6.3
PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATIVE CRITERIA
In
today’s world, football is not only about results on the field, but also
incorporation of professionalism in running the day-to-day administration of
the club. In this regard, having professional, well-educated and experienced
people in the administration of the club is key in running the club in an
efficient & effective manner.
The
focus is on the professional and expert manner in which the people that are
appointed perform their duties. The professionalism will also be improved if
clubs clearly define the profiles for the function to be performed and the
requirements for the job (education, working experience, IT skills, language
skills, commercial and marketing knowledge pertaining to the football
industry). The license applicant club is responsible for identifying &
recruiting people who meet these requirements and comply with the defined
profile either full time or part time.
The objectives of the personnel &
administrative criteria are-
a)
Clubs are managed in a
professional way by professional experts;
b)
Clubs have well-educated,
qualified and skilled specialists with specific know how and experience;
c)
Clubs are in a position to exploit
the commercial & marketing opportunities prevailing in the commercial
environment of the country;
d)
It helps the league to become more
professional and commercially beneficial over a period of time;
6.3.1 FULLTIME CEO/GENERAL
MANAGER/GENERAL SECRETARY
The
club must have an appointed full time CEO or General Manager or General
Secretary who is the head of the administration of the club. He is responsible
for managing and supervising the administrative matters of the club.
The
CEO/General Manager/General Secretary should at least be a Graduate from a
recognized college/university in or outside Bangladesh and must have experience
of administration of football club. He should have the necessary knowledge
& communication skills required in club management.
It shall –
a)
Be responsible for executing the
decisions of the Executive Body of the club;
b)
Be responsible for the
administration of the club secretariat and appointment & supervision of the
administrative staff;
c)
Assist and participate the
Congress & Executive Committee meetings of the club as an ex-officio;
d)
Be responsible for all the
official correspondence and communications with BFF, District FAs, Divisional
FA, Government, Other Clubs and any other stakeholders involved;
e)
Attend all the club management
& club development seminars organized by BFF or any other governing bodies
for the development of the club;
The
appointment of the full time CEO/General Manager/General Secretary should be
done by the Executive Body of the club through a written contract. The
appointed official should not have any other full time activities other than
management of the club that has employed him.
Submission to BFF
The
club must submit the name and CV of the full time CEO/General Manager/General
Secretary to BFF along with an appointment letter or an employment contract
stating his/her appointment as a full time head of club administration.
BFF would verify the documents and confirm the
appointment.
6.3.2 FULL TIME/PART TIME
MARKETING DIRECTOR
The
club must have an appointed full time or part time Marketing Director who is
the head of all the marketing, sponsorship and commercial matters relating to
the club. He is responsible for managing and supervising all the marketing
matters of the club.
The
Marketing Director should have adequate marketing academic qualifications and
experience in marketing & commercial aspects of football industry. He
should have the necessary knowledge & skills in marketing, sponsorship
management of football clubs and should beware of the demographic, geographic
and marketing environment prevailing in the football industry of Bangladesh.
It shall –
a)
Be responsible for designing and
implementing the marketing & promotional plan for the club;
b)
Be responsible for identifying
& approaching all the prospective sponsors and commercial partners for the
club;
c)
Be responsible for presenting and
selling the marketing opportunities for the club to potential sponsors;
d)
Be responsible for drafting,
finalizing and delivering all the sponsorship agreements entered into with the
sponsors;
e)
Be responsible for continuously
striving towards improving the sponsorship and commercial capabilities of the
club thereby increasing the club revenues;
f)
Research the market to exploit any
available marketing opportunities;
g)
Plan and supervise the club’s
marketing operations budget;
h)
Attend all the marketing &
sponsorship seminars and workshops organized by BFF or any other governing body
for the development of the club in marketing & commercial aspects;
The
appointment of full time/part time Marketing Director should be done by the
head of the club administration, i.e. the CEO/General Manager/General Secretary
through a written contract. The appointed official should give utmost
importance to club’s marketing, sponsorship & commercial activities.
Submission to BFF
The
club must submit the name of the full time/part time Marketing Director to BFF
along with his CV and an appointment letter or employment contract stating
his/her appointment as the head of all the marketing, sponsorship and
commercial matters relating to the club.
BFF would verify the documents and confirm the
appointment.
6.3.3 FULLTIME CLUB COORDINATOR
The
club must have an appointed full time coordinator for the club who is
responsible staff in the administration of the club. He will report to the head
of the club administration. He is responsible for managing and coordinating all
the communication and activities between the club, BFF and any other
stakeholder. The Coordinator should have good communication & coordinating
skills and lead the coordination between the club & BFF.
It shall –
a)
Be responsible for all the actual
communication and correspondence between the club & BFF and any other
stakeholders;
b)
Be responsible for informing the
head of club administration about all the communications & correspondence
between the club & BFF and any other stakeholders;
c)
Be responsible for informing BFF
about any of the activities undertaken by the club directly or indirectly
affecting BFF or its competitions;
d)
Be responsible for communicating
to BFF any problems or issues faced;
e)
Be responsible to communicate with
the club administration or club officials about any communication from BFF that
needs their attention & action;
f)
Be responsible to communicate to
the club about any courses, workshops or seminars being organized by BFF or any
other stakeholder for the development of the club;
g)
Be responsible to maintain
peaceful & harmonious relationship between the club & BFF and any other
stakeholders;
The
appointment of the full time coordinator should be done by the head of the club
administration, i.e. the CEO/General Manager/General Secretary of the club
through a written contract. The appointed official should not have any other
full time activities other than coordinating the activities, communication and
correspondence between the club and BFF.
Submission to BFF
The
club must submit the name of the full time coordinator to BFF along with his CV
and all his contact details. The club must submit an appointment letter or an
employment contract stating the appointment of the official as the official
club coordinator and liaison between club & BFF.
BFF would verify the documents and confirm the
appointment.
6.4
LEGAL CRITERIA (Optional for BPL Clubs)
An
important characteristic of a well managed & a stable football club may
have a strong legal foundation. It is necessary that the club has an
appropriate legal base as per the principles of football in the country. The
benefit of having legal criteria is encouraging the clubs to be stable over a
long run.
The
objectives of the legal criteria are-
a)
Establishing a stable &
sustainable entity;
b)
Compliance of the rules &
regulations of the national association;
c)
Increased protection for club,
players and officials through compliance of contractual obligations;
d)
Increased efficiency in player
transfer procedures;
e)
Transparency in financial
management;
f)
Ability to secure contracts with
sponsors and commercial partners;
g)
Streamlining of approvals from
government bodies for construction/ownership of club infrastructure;
6.4.1 LEGAL ENTITY (Optional for
BPL Clubs)
The
license applicant may be registered with an appropriate authority as a legal
entity as per the law prevailing in Bangladesh. The license applicant must be
in possession of a legally valid declaration confirming the following:
a)
It is a legal entity registered
with a recognized legal authority;
b)
It holds a certificate/document
stating its legal entity status;
c)
It has valid club statutes that is
approved by the authority confirming the legal entity status on the license
applicant;
Submission to BFF
The
club needs to provide the necessary documents and certificates that prove that
the club is a legal entity that is registered with the appropriate authority in
Bangladesh and valid club statutes that is approved by the authority.
6.5
Summary of the Criteria
Following
is a one-page summary highlighting the club licensing criteria for the clubs to
participate in the Bangladesh Premier League –
SPORTING CRITERIA
a)
License Applicant Club to appoint
a Head Coach for its first team, who hold at least an AFC ‘B’ Coaching
Certificate.
b)
License Applicant Club to appoint
an Assistant Coach for its first team, who hold at least an AFC ‘C’ Coaching
Certificate.
c)
License Applicant Club to have at
least one youth team within the age range of 18 that takes part in the youth
competitions organized by BFF.
INFRASTRUCTURE CRITERIA
a)
License Applicant Club either own
or have a guaranteed access to a Home Playing Field to play its Bangladesh
Premier League matches.
b)
License Applicant Club to either
own or have a guaranteed access to Training Field / Training Facilities
throughout the year.
c)
License Applicant Club to either
own or have a guaranteed access to an office space to conduct its
administrative task.
PERSONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE CRITERIA
a)
License Applicant Club to appoint
a full time CEO/General Manager/General Secretary as the head of club
administration.
b)
License Applicant Club to appoint
a full time/part time Marketing Director as the head of all the marketing,
sponsorship and commercial matters relating to the club.
c)
License Applicant Club to appoint
a full time Coordinator for the club who is responsible for managing and
coordinating all the communication and activities between the club, BFF and any
other stakeholders.
LEGAL CRITERIA (Optional for BPL)
a)
License Applicant Club to be a
legal entity registered with the appropriate authority with having club
statutes.
7.
MATTERS NOT PROVIDED FOR
Matters
not provided for in these regulations shall be decided by the BFF Executive
Committee, whose decisions are final.
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