Tabith Awal elected President of Bangladesh Football Federation

He defeats AFM Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury in the election

Tabith Awal has been elected president of the Bangladesh Football Federation after more than 16 years of previous leadership.

This marks the first time he will assume the role of head of the country’s football governing body.

Tabith secured victory in the election after the BFF's annual general meeting held on Saturday at a hotel in Dhaka, defeating grassroots organiser AFM Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury of Dinajpur by a landslide.

He secured 123 votes to his rival’s 5.

The voting began at 2pm and concluded at 6pm, with results announced shortly after by chief Election Commissioner Mejbah Uddin Ahmed.

This leadership transition comes after Kazi Salahuddin announced last month that he would not seek re-election, paving the way for new leadership within the federation.

Tabith previously served as vice-president of the BFF in 2012 and 2016.

In the 2020 elections, he was tied with Mahi Uddin Mahi for the vice-presidential position, with each receiving 65 votes.

Tabith later lost a runoff election by a margin of only four votes.

A total of 133 voters were registered for the latest election, with 128 participating on the day.

Elections were also held for 19 other positions on Saturday.