Saifur Rahman Moni

Moni started his career at Farashganj SC, where he formed a lethal partnership with forward Rokonuzzaman Kanchan. In 2003, Moni joined Muktijoddha Sangsad KC from Farashganj SC, and guided the club to the 2003 National Football League title with 6 goals including one in the final against Mohammedan SC.[1] In the Dhaka League, Moni regularly captained The Freedom Fighters who at the time were one of the strongest in the league, lead by their striking duo of Moni and Kanchan.[2][3]

With 7 goals, Moni was the highest goalscorer at the 2004 National Football League.[4][5] During the tournament he also scored four goals in a 7–1 demolition of Brothers Union. In the same year, he scored in the Federation Cup final against Mohammedan SC in a 2–1 victory.[4] Moni also won the 2004 Chittagong League with Chittagong Mohammedan SC.[6][7] On 20 April 2004, Moni scored against Yemeni club Al Sha'ab Ibb at the 2004 AFC Cup, and although Muktijoddha lost the game 2–3, Moni became the first Bangladeshi player to score a goal in the AFC Cup.[8]

On 17 May 2005, Moni underwent a successful knee operation in New Delhi, India, after he tore a ligament during the Federation Cup semifinal against Mohammedan SC on April 28 of that year. The injury lead to him missing more than six weeks of the football season for Muktijoddha.[9] Moni returned to the football and represented the Dhaka University football team, scoring a hat-trick against Jahangirnagar University in the Education zone play-offs of the 2006 National Football League.[10]

On 17 March 2007, Moni scored the lone goal as Muktijoddha defeated Mohammedan SC to secure their first ever victory in the B.League.[11] He ended his playing career after the 2009–10 Bangladesh League.[12]

Moni spent his youth career at Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishtan (BKSP), and represented the Bangladesh U16 in 1996, for the 1996 AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers. In 1998, senior national team coach Abu Yusuf selected him for the Bangladesh national team, for two friendly games against Qatar and Qatar U23. Moni was also part of the Bangladesh team that won the 2003 SAFF Gold Cup on home soil.[13] Moni played for the Bangladesh B team at the 2007 Merdeka Tournament, under coach Hasanuzzaman Khan Bablu. During the tournament he scored against Zimbabwe in a 1–2 defeat.[14] He last appeared for the main national team on 28 October 2007, when Bangladesh suffered a 0–5 tharshing at the hands of Tajikistan.

In February 2022, Moni got his first coaching job at AFC Uttara. The club had been given direct entry to the 2021–22 Bangladesh Championship League after meeting all the required criteria needed to participate in the second-tier, and Moni's inaugural match as coach, ended with a 3–0 victory over Kawran Bazar PS.

On 27 March 2022, Moni resigned from head coach duty and filed Match fixing allegations against the clubs players and officials. He stated "I am very doubtful whether our matches number 7 and 8 in the championship league were played legally or not. So I don't want to involve myself in any work against the rules". The clubs final two games under Moni, against Uttara FC (1–2) and Farashganj SC (3–1) were investigated by the Bangladesh Football Federation disciplinary committee and surprisingly even after all the allegations against them and match footage evidence they were declared innocent and given clearance to participate in the Bangladesh Premier League; as they had earned promotion the same season.[15][16]

In June 2022, Moni took charge of Saif SC Youth Team, who would take part in the Dhaka Second Division League, which is the fourth-tier of Bangladeshi football. Initailly he was involved in player selection process alongside ex-national team midfielder Shahedul Alam Shahed.[17] Moni's future at the club was uncertain even before the season began, as Saif Sporting Club pulled out of all sorts of footballing activities.[18] Nonetheless, the clubs Youth team were permitted to participate in the 2021–22 Dhaka Second Division League by the Bangladesh Football Federation and the Metropolitan Football League.[19]

Moni's first game as the clubs head coach ended in a 2–1 victory over Alamgir Somaj Kallayan, on 19 August 2022.[20][21] Saif qualified for the Super League round as group champions, with 5 wins and 3 draws from 8 games. Integral to Moni's success were strikers Jubayer Ahmed and Noor Alam Siddik.In the Super League round, Moni's side were undefeated with 6 wins and 1 draw from 7 games, earning them promotion to the Dhaka Senior Division League as champions. The club were also the best defensive team in the league, conceding only 6 goals in 15 games. This was also Moni's first trophy as head coach of a club.[22][23]

In December 2022, following the conclusion of the Dhaka Second Division League, Moni secured an immediate return to the Bangladesh Championship League by joining Gopalganj Sporting Club. He guided the club to promotion to the Bangladesh Premier League by finishing third, as the runners-up BFF Elite Academy were ineligible for promotion.[24]

In August 2023, Moni was appointed as the head coach of Bangladesh national under-16 team for the 2023 SAFF U-16 Championship, held in Bhutan.[25]

Muktijoddha SKC

• National Football League: 2003
• Bangladesh Federation Cup: 2003
• Independence Cup: 2005

Bangladesh

• SAFF Championship: 2003

• 2003 − National Football League top scorer
• 2004 − National Football League top scorer

Saif SC Youth Team

• Dhaka Second Division League: 2021–22