Although the Bangladesh Football Federation is also taking into account Myanmar and Nepal, it is expected that the Bangladesh national football team will play two FIFA friendly matches against Afghanistan at home in the month of September.
The matches will be for the Afghanistan Cup. During a meeting of the National Teams Committee (NTC) that is taking place today, there may be some pruning of the list of possible opponents.
As a part of the national team’s preparation for the first round of World Cup Qualifiers in October versus Maldives, the National Teams Committee is dedicated to providing an optimal platform of preparation by organising two friendly matches within the September 4-12 window. These matches will take place between the dates of September 4 and 12.
Soon after the foreign engagements of Bashundhara Kings and Abahani in the middle of August, the national team will begin their preparation for the Qualifiers on August 20. This will leave the charges of Javier Cabrera for the two friendly matches with two weeks of preparation.
We have a meeting tomorrow, but it is not that we will make the final call there. We have been discussing with Afghanistan, Nepal, Myanmar, and a few other countries for the friendly matches, but we have not confirmed them yet,” NTC chairman Kazi Nabil Ahmed told The Daily Star yesterday. “We have not decided on the opposition yet. We have a meeting tomorrow, and it is not that we will take the final call there.”
The possibility of playing the former SAFF nation is higher than the likelihood of playing any of the other teams given that Afghanistan has indicated that it is ready to visit Bangladesh. According to Nabil, “There is a possibility to play [against Afghanistan], but we will take the final decision after discussing the matter with the head coach [Cabrera], which is what we always do.”
Even though the NTC had originally planned to hold a tri-nation tournament in September, the local governing body of the game is now working on making arrangements for two matches.
“Our goal is to hold two matches. The committee was initially considering whether we can host a tri-nation tournament but most of the teams wanted to play two matches, so the initial thought was dropped and we are planning to hold two matches at home,” said NTC member Satayjit Das Rupu. “Our target is to hold two matches.”
Nabil also said that they are looking forward to playing the matches at Sylhet, which is now the only stadium that is recognized to host international football matches for senior men’s football. This is because Sylhet District Stadium is the only facility that is currently available.
Nabil said that they were considering playing the matches at the already constructed Sylhet District Stadium. “We are thinking of hosting the matches there,” “At this time, the Bangabandhu National Stadium is not available, and we do not even have any information about the venue; however, we may make some inquiries about it.”
The football competition between several universities that is presently taking place at Sylhet District Stadium was expected to come to a close yesterday. On August 16, Abahani are scheduled to play Club Eagles in an AFC Cup match, and they are expected to seize control of the stadium in advance of the match.
“It is important to have seating arrangement at a venue in order to host international matches, but the BNS is currently going through renovation work. FIFA won’t allow holding matches without chair-seating arrangement,” Rupu added. After the conclusion of the inter-university competition on August 16, the playing surface at Sylhet will be readied for the match that will take place on that day. “The ground at Sylhet is not a bad one as an inspection was made there on July 26.”