In the group rounds of the two SAFF age-level championships for boys that will be contested in September in Nepal and Bhutan, Bangladesh will face reigning champions India.
The events will be hosted in Nepal and Bhutan.
On Saturday, the SAFF Secretariat in Dhaka played host to the draw ceremonies for both the SAFF U-16 Championship and the SAFF U-19 Championship. Both of these events were conducted simultaneously.
Through a random draw, the seven SAFF members’ teams were split into two groups of six, with the exception of Sri Lanka, which is currently suspended from FIFA competition. At the U-16 tournament, the teams from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal were placed in Group A, while the teams from Bhutan, Maldives, and Pakistan were placed in Group B. The gathering will take place in Thimphu, Bhutan, from the 1st to the 10th of September.
India is the reigning winner of this competition since they prevailed over Nepal in the final of the competition that was conducted for the under-17 age group a year ago and won by a score of 4-0.
India, the reigning champions, will be placed in Group B of the SAFF U-19 Championship with Bangladesh and Bhutan. The tournament will take place in Kathmandu, Nepal, from September 21 to September 30. Group A is comprised of Nepal, the Maldives, and Pakistan.
In the championship match for the under-20 age group, which took place in August of the previous year, India had prevailed against Bangladesh with a score of 5-2 after extra time.
Both the general secretary of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Anwarul Haque Helal and the interim general secretary of the Bangladesh Football Federation (Imran Hossain) presided over the draw ceremony.