Sports Desk //

The inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup kicks off on September 24 in Jakarta, Indonesia. In this tournament, which runs until October 4, Bangladesh has been drawn into Group A alongside hosts Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

FIFA released the schedule for the group stage matches on Wednesday.

Bangladesh’s opening match of the tournament is against Malaysia on September 25. The game will begin at 3:00 PM (Bangladesh time) at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. Two days later, on September 28, Bangladesh will face Singapore at the same venue and time. The final group stage match for the ‘Red and Greens’ will be against hosts Indonesia; this game is scheduled for October 1 at 6:30 PM (Bangladesh time) at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

For this inaugural FIFA ASEAN Cup, China, India, and Hong Kong were invited alongside 11 Southeast Asian nations. After India and China withdrew, Pakistan and Bangladesh were invited to take their places. The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) decided to participate in the tournament immediately after receiving the invitation from FIFA.

Bangladesh is currently holding a training camp with a 28-member preliminary squad in preparation for the tournament. Preparations are underway under the guidance of head coach Tom Saintfiet. Players currently playing in foreign leagues—Hamza Choudhury, Samit Shome, Tariq Kazi, Zayan Ahmed, and Fahmidul Islam—are not currently at the camp; however, they are expected to be part of the final squad and will join the team before the tournament begins. Sourav Dewan and Minhajul Karim have earned spots in the preliminary squad as new faces.

The decision to organize the ASEAN Cup, modeled after the FIFA Arab Cup, was made last year. Following approval at this year’s FIFA Congress, the competition is now taking place for the first time.

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