AKM Maruful Haque has been involved in coaching since the second edition of the professional football league in the 2008-9 season, but the country's lone UEFA A licence coach, along with other successful coaches such as Shafiqul Islam Manik, Saiful Bari Titu, and Julfikar Mahmud Mintu, have not been involved with top-fight football for the first time in the professional era due to the influx of foreign coaches. The 54-year-old successful coach, who has 11 titles and six runners-up trophies to his name, spoke to Anisur Rahman of The Daily Star about various aspects of the country's coaches and coaching. The excerpts of the conversation are as follows:

Foreign coach hiring is common in global sports such as football, particularly among national teams. Bangladesh is no different in this regard, although this practice has extended in full force in the country’s top-flight domestic circuit of late -- leading to the marginalisation of similarly qualified local coaches.

With lower-level competitions like school tournament, national age-group tournament being absent for a long time, Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has taken an initiative to hold BFF Academy U-15 Championship with participation of residential and non-residential football academies across the country.

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) renewed its contract with current head coach Javier Cabrera for another year running till December 2024. 

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is likely to extend the contract of Javier Cabrera, the head coach of men’s national team, for another year with an increase of his wages following demand from the 39-year-old.

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is considering to appoint former West Ham United midfielder Peter James Butler as the development coach of the BFF Elite Academy, informed BFF president Kazi Salahuddin.

Two days into Australia, the national football team's booters are still battling to adjust to the chilly temperature in Melbourne, but they expect to acclimate before the match against Australia on Thursday.

Lack of matches against higher ranked opponents has been a long-standing problem for the Bangladesh men's football team in the international arena.

Taking inspiration from their 3-1 win against Maldives in June’s SAFF Championship, Bangladesh will look for a positive result against the same opposition in their away match of the preliminary round of the World Cup Qualifiers today.

Bangladesh national football team will want to leave behind their off-field distractions as they leave for Maldives today to play the first match of a two-legged World Cup pre-qualifier on Thursday.

Bangladesh national team’s key players Topu Barman, Anisur Rahman Zico and Sheikh Morsalin are likely to be not considered for the two World Cup prequalifying matches against Maldives later this month.

Bangladesh will look to improve and get a victory against Afghanistan in the second FIFA friendly match at the Bashundhara Kings Arena today, with the match kicking off 5:00pm.

Despite facing a lot of odds including player shortage, Bangladesh under-23 football team have set their sights on the final round of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup.

With the slogan ‘football for heath’, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) today launched a non-residential academy where budding footballers will train for a monthly fee.

The first contingent of Afghanistan national football team landed in Dhaka in the early hours of Sunday ahead of their two FIFA friendly matches against hosts Bangladesh.

Brothers Union scooped up six of the 10 players as Bangladesh Football Federation held a first-of-its-kind auction for 10 of its Elite Academy footballers at a hotel in the capital yesterday.

The Bashundhara Kings Arena will host the two FIFA Friendly matches between Bangladesh and Afghanistan early next month, confirmed Bangladesh Football Federation’s vice-president Kazi Nabil Ahmed.

Bangladesh Football Federation agreed to increase the salaries of the women’s national team by bringing 31 players under contract for next sixth months while raising their salaries.

Bangladesh national women's football team players are set to come under a professional contract with the Bangladesh Football Federation.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday interrogated Mahfuza Akhter Kiran, an executive member of Bangladesh Football Federation and Asian Football Confederation, after Begum Anwara Sporting Club lodged a complaint of embezzling sponsorship money against her in May this year.