Bangladesh’s under-21 hockey team are facing uncertainty over their planned tour of Switzerland due to visa complications, putting a key part of their World Cup preparations in jeopardy.
The junior side, set to make their maiden appearance at the Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup beginning on 28 november in India, were scheduled to travel to Switzerland later this month to play four warm-up matches against the hosts and Austria. However, with only one of the 26 squad members having received a visa so far, the trip appears increasingly unlikely.
The Swiss Embassy in Dhaka has already informed the Bangladesh Hockey Federation that processing all the applications within such a short time would be difficult. Federation General Secretary Lt. Col. (retd) Riazul Hasan admitted that the situation leaves the team with little hope of travelling.
“Our team will probably not be able to play the preparatory matches in Switzerland,” Hasan said. “Except for one player, no one has received a visa. There are no available visa slots. The embassy advised us to apply earlier, but we only got the invitation from Switzerland a few days ago. There’s nothing more we can do. Everything regarding the visas will be finalised on thursday, and if we don’t get them, there’s no alternative.”
The young team had recently completed a preparatory series in Malaysia as part of their build-up to the World Cup. For now, they continue to train under Dutch coach Siegfried Aikman at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium in Dhaka, awaiting final word on whether the Swiss leg of their preparations can proceed.
