Bangladesh will begin their national team camp on Monday ahead of the 5 June match against San Marino, but Hamza Choudhury and Shamit Shome will not travel to Dhaka. Both players will fly directly from England and join the squad in San Marino.
National team manager Amer Khan confirmed the travel plan while outlining the camp schedule. He said the Bashundhara Kings players will report a day later, while the rest of the squad must arrive by Monday afternoon. Bangladesh plan to leave Dhaka on 31 May via Ethiopian Airlines after securing Italian transit visas.
San Marino sits inside Italian territory, so Bangladesh require transit clearance before entering the microstate for the friendly.
The match will mark the first game under new coach Thomas Dooley. The German-American arrived in Dhaka on Friday morning, but the Bangladesh Football Federation still has not presented him to the media. Previous national team coaches usually spoke publicly either at the airport or at the federation headquarters on arrival.
Questions also continue around Dooley’s contract. BFF earlier advertised the role as a two-year appointment, but officials still have not clarified the exact length of the agreement. Sources say Dooley will earn less than Javier Cabrera’s reported monthly salary of 13,500 euros despite his World Cup pedigree as a former United States international.
The uncertainty deepened after a scheduled national team committee meeting got cancelled on Saturday morning, only hours after organisers announced it. Several committee members admitted they still do not know the details of Dooley’s contract, benefits or long-term programme.
One committee member expressed frustration over the lack of communication and said members expected the meeting to provide answers on the coach and related matters.
Youth and Sports State Minister Aminul Haque said at a football event on Friday, “The contract with the coach has not been completed yet. The next decision will come after the San Marino match.”
BFF president Tabith Awal did not directly respond to the adviser’s remarks. The federation also has not issued any formal clarification since then, leaving supporters uncertain over whether Dooley holds a short-term arrangement or a longer project.
