The Asian Hockey Federation has officially confirmed that Bangladesh will host Pakistan in a three-match play-off series in November, with a spot in the World Cup qualifiers at stake. The series comes as a special arrangement by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), after Pakistan did not participate in the Asia Cup held in India.
As Bangladesh finished sixth in the Asia Cup, they will now face Pakistan for a chance to enter the World Cup qualifiers. According to Asian Hockey Federation rules, the sixth-placed team from the Asia Cup will host the play-off series. Accordingly, the matches will be held in Dhaka on 13, 14 and 16 November.
In a statement today, the Asian Hockey Federation released the official schedule for the series.
Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Riazul Hasan, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Hockey Federation, said, “The Asian Hockey Federation gave us a timeframe of 10–17 November to host the series. We have finalised the schedule accordingly. With official approval now received, we can begin further preparations.”
The FIH Junior (Under-21) World Cup is set to begin on 28 November in Chennai, India. Initially, the Bangladesh Hockey Federation had planned to hold the play-off series after the Junior World Cup, since eight players from the U-21 squad are also part of the senior team. Playing the Asia Cup play-off before the World Cup could disrupt the U-21 team’s preparations.
However, following instructions from the Asian Hockey Federation, the Bangladesh Hockey Federation is now required to host the matches before the World Cup. Although it is an AHF-sanctioned series, all associated costs will be borne by the Bangladesh Hockey Federation.
