"The Vision Asia has given us a difficult task of introducing a nation-wide professional football league from January 2006. But we have accepted the challenge," said BFF president SA Sultan at a press briefing yesterday.

A five-member BFF delegation led by Sultan returned to Dhaka Wednesday night from Kuala Lumpur where they met Vision Asia officials to finalise the Vision Bangladesh programme.

Vision Asia, a programme for development of the game in underdeveloped Asian nations, is the brainchild of AFC (Asian Football Confederation) president Moha-mmad Bin Hammam.

"They have asked us to name it (the professional league) Bangla League or B-League but we have expressed a different view about na-ming the tournament. We will find a suitable name for the competition which will replace the existing Na-tional Football League," Sultan said.

"We have been working on this for one and half years and now we are going to go on all-out action. The structure will be completed by September this year. We have accepted eight of their (Vision Asia) suggestions and we now have to open eight new departments for the first phase of Vision Bangladesh. We hope to implement them in three years time," added the BFF chief.

"They have just showed us a systematic and a professional way to do the work which we had been doing an unorganised manner," said Sultan.

The BFF's top priorities are setting up a professional infrastructure, rebuilding the competitions, grassroots and youth development, coaches' education, referees' development, marketing, communications and forming a National Task Force featuring representatives from ministries, the federation, sponsors and all related organisations.

"There will be no changes in the elected executive committee as part of administration restructure but like the AFC, we also feel that we need full-time professionals to execute the committee decisions," Sultan said. "Unless football in Bangladesh becomes a golden game, we will have deficits. But in three years, we hope to overcome that problem."

BFF general secretary Anwarul Hoque Helal, also a member of the delegation, informed that the BFF will start recruiting officials from April.

"We are going to take about 25 men including an executive secretary who will run the show for the committees. They will be trained by the AFC before becoming ready for work from September."

"We also have to prepare a budget for the whole programme. We know that we don't have the financial resources to implement such a vast programme. We have to know where the funds will come from. Once we prepare the budget, we will ask for help from the government and the AFC.

"Although we will launch the pro-league next year, I think it will take at least three years for it to take a good shape. The clubs interested in joining the league will have to fulfil the criteria set by the AFC. But we will move step by step," said Helal.

The BFF president announced that they will open the newly built BFF House (BFF Bhaban) on April 10 instead of the earlier proposed date in February.

"According to tradition, either the FIFA president or the regional chief has to inaugurate the building. But none of them are available in February. Mr. Hammam has agreed to arrive in Dhaka on April 9 to open the building the next day. We will try to make it a grand occasion with the presence of the Prime Minister," Sultan said.