Bangladesh to replace India in ASEAN Cup
Collected Photo
India withdrew from the first ever FIFA funded ASEAN Cup to take the golden opportunity to play a home match against Brazil. Since then, there had been speculation that FIFA would give Bangladesh or Sri Lanka the opportunity to replace India in the tournament. At an emergency virtual meeting this afternoon, the National Team Committee of the Bangladesh Football Federation decided that Bangladesh would participate in the ASEAN Cup. Following the meeting, chaired by BFF President and committee chief Tabith Awal, committee member Saeed Hasan Kanan confirmed Bangladesh’s participation in the tournament.
The eight-team tournament will be held in Indonesia from September 24 to October 4. Bangladesh will play in Group A alongside hosts Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Group B consists of Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Pakistan.
The two group champions will advance directly to the final. The two group runners up will play a third-place playoff. There will be no semifinals in the tournament. However, each team will have the opportunity to play at least four matches.
The BFF had already planned to make good use of the two FIFA windows in September and October ahead of the SAFF Championship in November. President Tabith Awal had said Bangladesh would play in a three or four team tournament either at home or abroad.
Meanwhile, India’s last-minute withdrawal from the ASEAN Cup opened the opportunity for Bangladesh.
Kanan confirmed the matter to Agamir Somoy, saying, “Our president urgently called an online meeting and raised the issue of participating in the ASEAN Cup. He presented two options to us. One was to organize a tournament at home with three or four teams, and the other was to participate in the ASEAN Cup in Indonesia with FIFA funding. We gave priority to the ASEAN Cup.”
The participating teams will also receive financial grants from FIFA for taking part in the tournament.
