Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) president Tabith Awal is keen for Bangladesh to keep playing in the FIFA ASEAN Cup, saying the federation's close ties with FIFA can help the country's football grow.

He spoke after talks with FIFA president Gianni Infantino on the sidelines of the inaugural tournament in Jakarta, where Bangladesh faced several of the region's leading sides.

"I think that the current structure between the Bangladesh Football Federation and FIFA is extremely strong, extremely friendly and a very, very strong partnership," he said.

Tabith said he hoped the competition would give the national team more chances to test itself against stronger opposition.

The talks with Infantino covered men's, women's and youth football, the Nations League and FIFA Series. They also touched on widening future FIFA-sponsored competitions to include more Asian nations.

Tabith said Bangladesh had benefited from FIFA's development support, citing the Arena and Forward programmes and coaching and referee courses. He added:

"We have used a lot of FIFA's good projects, whether it be the FIFA Arena Programme, whether it be the FIFA Forward Programme, whether it be some coaching and referee courses, to really, truly develop a football culture in Bangladesh."

He also praised Infantino's leadership and his habit of turning up at major football events.

"We were extremely happy to know that our President, the current President of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, was going to be joining at the final's festivities," Tabith said.

"This is a testament to the kind of leader he is, because I've been to many such tournaments and finals where I've seen President Infantino appear there himself, before and after the big matches," he added.