Bangladesh U-17 national football team midfielder Md Kamal Merdha has said the squad is working to adapt to Sri Lanka’s weather conditions as they prepare for the SAFF U-17 Championship 2025.
In a video message released by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on Monday, Kamal underlined the importance of getting used to the warmer climate and stressed that the team is approaching their group-stage fixtures against Nepal and hosts Sri Lanka with full seriousness.
“The weather in Sri Lanka is much warmer than in Bangladesh. We are now adapting to this weather. The matches ahead of us are Nepal and Sri Lanka; we are not taking them lightly. We want to win against them and play in the semi-finals,” Kamal said.
The tournament begins on 15 September in Colombo. Bangladesh will open their campaign against Nepal on 18 September before facing Sri Lanka on 21 September at the Racecourse Ground.
As part of their build-up, the squad trained at the Kelaniya Football Complex and also took part in recovery sessions, including swimming exercises, at their hotel.
Assistant coach Jahangir Alam Mintu confirmed the players are fully fit and said the coaching staff will fine-tune tactics after watching Nepal and Sri Lanka in action.
“We had our first training session on Sunday and completed the second one today (Monday) from 10 am to 11:30 am. Our opening match is on 18 September, while Nepal and Sri Lanka are starting their campaign today. We will watch their game at the stadium and prepare our plans accordingly. All our players are fit with no injuries, and we ask for your prayers to achieve something special,” Mintu said.
