The ongoing 17th Federation Cup football tournament experienced a bizarre second spell of inauguration yesterday after it had been duly declared open last week. Shamimuzzaman Basunia, the treasurer of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), stunned all who were present at the stadium when he performed the opening of what the organisers called the beginning of the eight-team second phase.

The season's curtain-raiser was earlier kicked off on July 20 with the general secretary of the BFF, Harun-ur-Rashid gracing the much-publicised ceremony as the chief guest. But the publicity-happy organisers, who had to take the back seat during the inaugural ceremony, formulated an unprecedented scheme to let the tournament have another inauguration with the centrestage seized by the rest of the BFF bosses, not to mention for yet another photo session. The BFF supremo Mayor Mohammad Hanif , who had missed the July 20 inauguration, arrived late at the stadium but managed to get introduced with the players on completion of the first match.