"The AFC officials has told us to give emphasis on developing the game at youth level, which is also a part of the VisionBangladesh programme," said Monir Hossain, chairman of BFF's youth development programme, yesterday after his return from an AFC meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

"We have already asked the district sports associations to pick young footballers for training purpose. They have started the selection process and 50 to 100 players will be brought under our training programme in each district. We will teach them the basics of the game in the first stage," said Monir who is also the BFF's senior vice-president.

"We will run the camps with local coaches from September to October and expect to organise a youth football tournament at national level by the start of next year," he explained.

He added that the tournament will be played on weekends only, probably Thursdays and Fridays, as the BFF aims to keep the players busy for at least seven to eight months round the year.

"We are determined to fulfil this goal as part of the VisionBangladesh project and I am looking forward to lure sponsors for the programme."

Under VisionBangladesh, the BFF has already started coaching programmes at grassroots level and if handled properly, the two programmes would help the youngsters prepare to enter the big stage.

"This is the first time the federation is going to take such a step nationwide and it will certainly improve the condition of the game."

Monir Ahmed, who is also a member of the National Team Management Committee (NTMC), uttered his frustration over the delay in bringing foreign coach for the national team, which has no coach for the past two and a half years.

"We have failed to bring the Argentine coaches due to lack of fund. I expected the government to assist us in this because it is a national issue. Anyway, we (NTMC) have arranged to pay the coaching staff for at least one year and now it is in BFF's hands to bring them here soon.

The NTMC could not bring sponsors for meeting the demands of the foreign coach but the members of the NTMC will personally provide the fund.