Bangladesh will begin preparations for the SAFF Championship on October 25, approximately 10 days before the tournament starts in Dhaka, with most overseas-based players expected to miss the November 5 opener.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Bangladesh Football Federation’s National Teams Committee (NTC), attended by the chairmen of the federation’s development and technical committees.
BFF president and NTC chairman Tabith Awal said the federation hoped to arrange a preparatory friendly on October 31 or November 1 to help the squad regain match sharpness.
“We will try to hold a preparatory match either on 31st October or 1st November,” Tabith told reporters. “We think we really need a friendly preparatory match to bring back the team’s [match] temperament.”
Bangladesh will not have their full squad available for the opening fixture. Hamza Choudhury, Shamit Shome and several other overseas-based players are expected to be unavailable until the next FIFA international window opens on November 9.
“For our SAFF’s opening match [on November 5], we will not get our full squad… So, we maybe get 90 percent of the players who play abroad after the ninth,” Tabith said.
The committee also reviewed Bangladesh’s performance at the recently concluded FIFA ASEAN Cup. A fuller assessment will follow at its next meeting, once reports from the team management and coaching staff are available.
Tabith said the federation would also maintain a separate Under-23 team during every FIFA international window. The team would train and play friendly matches against other countries, including unofficial fixtures, as part of efforts to strengthen Bangladesh’s player pool.
The BFF is also considering annual tournaments and a training camp in the United Kingdom for Bangladeshi diaspora footballers aged 14 to 17.
“For the future, we are mulling to hold two tournaments and a camp in UK in every year with the diaspora footballers aged 14 to 17,” Tabith said. He added that the programme would help identify young players who could strengthen the national team in the future.
