State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque on Tuesday expressed his doubts over whether hosting the Brazil team for a match against Bangladesh in Dhaka would bring any long-term benefits to the country’s football.
“If Bangladesh plays against a world champion team like Brazil, it would be a dream come true for many Bangladeshis fans… But I don’t believe that Bangladesh football will transform if Brazil comes and plays here,” Aminul told reporters after an event at the Boxing Federation in Dhaka.
He also said that the talks between the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) is still in the initial stages, and nothing is yet finalised.
“This matter is in the initial stage. There has been no extensive discussion on it. There is still no clear message on “whether the Brazil team will even come to Bangladesh.
“What we believe is that if the Brazil team comes to Bangladesh and plays against the Bangladesh team, it would be a very big achievement for Bangladesh. But I’m not very hopeful about how much our football will progress because of it,” he added.
On Sunday, a five-member delegation from the CBF had arrived in Dhaka for a one-day visit, inspecting the National Stadium and Bashundhara Kings Arena before holding a courtesy meeting with the BFF president Tabith Awal.
The following day, the BFF released a statement, saying it will soon hold a formal meeting with the CBF where the prospects of hosting the Brazil team in Dhaka for a friendly match against Bangladesh and of using the Dhaka venues as a neutral venue for the Selecao will be discussed.
Brazil are set to face India in Kolkata on October 3, and according to reports, the Brazilian delegation has floated October 6 as a probable date for the match against Bangladesh – the final day of the September-October FIFA window.
Hosting Brazil would prove costly for the BFF, which would need to charter the squad's 90-member contingent from Kolkata to Dhaka and on to Dubai, according to reports.
BFF executive member Sakhawat Hossain Bhuiyan Shaheen had said the football federation would seek financial support from the government to host the match.
Aminul said the BFF is yet to officially ask for financial assistance.
“The matter is in the initial stage. I have spoken with BFF president Tabith Awal. Only initial talks have taken place. But there hasn’t been any open discussion on how much cost we would have to bear and other related matters. We can’t say anything before the discussions take place. After the discussions, we will see how we can execute it.”