By the time the senior national team’s conditioning camp comes to an end on February 12, the players will have been better prepared for the season ahead.

Besides warming up the players after the off season, the camp was also able to acquire scientific physical and physiological data of each participant in different activities.

The players were tested on a range of indicators that included distance covered over time, time to cover certain distances, period of recovery between certain activities, flexibility, consistency of technique, recovery from one day to the next, speed, change of speed, speed of reaction, even water retention and hydration.

It was for the first time that the football federation set out to collect this information that would eventually play a role in making better informed decision when picking the national squad.

The two batches of players were tested on range of activities throughout the 12 days that they spent at the camp.

Bangladesh Football Federation’s Technical Director Paul Smalley said the football authorities now had a baseline reference for each player and their potential for progressive development. “We have a range of analytical indicators to compare and contrast performances.”

With the information available, the federation will now be able to compare Bangladeshi players with the players of other Asian countries as well.

The camp focused on eight key areas — injury prevention, recovery, game related practices, technical, tactical, strength & conditioning format, physical testing and core stability and flexibility — where players were given the tools to grow both in skills and strength.

As regards to who performed the best, Paul Smalley said, “That is confidential information about a player. We can’t give it out.”

As regards names that have been circulating in the media about who was the best performer, Smalley said it was not possible for an individual to know who performed best. “It is simply not possible to say without collating the hundreds of different data points and calculating the aggregate.”

He said the players had been very professional in their approach and adapted really well with the programme. “It was a huge success and we look forward to another one at the end of the season.”