What began as a tense standoff ended in relief for Bangladesh’s national football team on Tuesday evening when Mohammedan Sporting Club finally cleared their six players to join the ongoing training camp in Dhaka.
The camp, which officially opened on Monday, was missing a key group of Mohammedan stars after the club initially refused to release them. The club had argued that FIFA rules only require player release 72 hours before international duty, leaving coach Javier Cabrera with an incomplete squad on the first day.
That stance softened 24 hours later. Mohammedan’s Event and Operations Manager S.M.A Kahhar Siddique Amit confirmed the reversal, saying the decision was taken in the interest of the national game. “Our directors, manager Imtiaz Ahmed Nakib and the technical committee agreed that since other clubs had already released their players, we should do the same. The players will report tonight,” he said.
The delay was not without consequence. Mohammedan’s coaches had wanted more time to work on player fitness and combinations ahead of domestic fixtures.
Amit admitted the situation was far from ideal. “We wanted to delay because some of our players are affected with viral flu, we didn’t want that flu to spread whole national team” he said.
Among the six, captain Mehedi Hasan Mithu is recovering from fever while forward Sumon Reza has a minor injury. Both will travel but their training load will be assessed by the coaching staff. The remaining four Zahid Hossain Shanto, Rahmat Mia, Sujon Hossain and Shakil Ahad Topu are fit and ready to join full sessions.
It is the first time Mohammedan have delayed releasing players to the national team, and it has highlighted the lack of coordination between the federation, league organisers and clubs over scheduling.
For Cabrera and his squad, however, the immediate concern is over. With the full group finally assembling, attention can now return to the real task: sharpening Bangladesh’s preparation for the upcoming Asian Cup qualifiers.
