Bangladesh coach Thomas Dooley has confirmed that Hamza Dewan Choudhury will miss the SAFF Championship opener against Bhutan on November 5. Farhaan Ali Wahid is expected to arrive late too, with both likely to be ready for the second match against Sri Lanka on November 11.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Dooley pointed to the international calendar as the reason.
“We have never had a full squad from the beginning because of the FIFA dates. Clubs don’t release players at a higher level because they need them for their games. FIFA dates are set five times a year, and that is when clubs have to release them.”
On Hamza in particular, he was blunt.
“He has league games, and you don’t release a player who is so important to you. Even with a red card, the club doesn’t have to release him. They release him only when they have to, and that is on the 8th. It depends on flights. It is not as easy as most people think.”
Hamza is due to arrive around November 9, with Farhaan expected the same day.
“Hamza comes on the 9th, Farhaan maybe the 9th, so they will be there for the second game. Right now we have 23 or 24 players in camp, and by the 3rd we will be almost complete.”
21 of the 30 players summoned have reported to the team management. The other overseas based members, with Hamza and Farhaan the exceptions, are scheduled to land by November 3, which would leave Bangladesh close to full strength two days ahead of the opener.
Dooley also explained why the preliminary squad, announced on Saturday, October 24, includes two teenage forwards, Ronan Sullivan and Mohammed Mahe Khan. The reason, he said, is a gap Bangladesh have failed to fill.
“Everybody knows we are looking for a number nine and we don’t have one. A number nine is a specific player, a centre forward who goes in front of the goalkeeper and defender to be first to the ball.”
“You play against the biggest guy, someone who can use his knees, hands and elbows. If you are not afraid to go in where it hurts, you are a number nine. Ronan is one of them and Khan is also one of them, so they are here to fill that position.”
The 28 player squad includes the returning defenders Topu Barman and Bishwanath Ghosh. Ronan, 18, impressed at the SAFF U20 Championship in Male in April. Mahe, also 18, plays for Moulton FC in the ninth tier of English football and has scored nine goals in seven matches.
Bangladesh’s FIFA ASEAN Cup in Indonesia was a disaster. They lost all three matches against Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, conceded 13 goals and scored only twice, both in a 9-2 defeat by Indonesia. Hamza was involved in a heated exchange with an Indonesian player after that match.
Teammates and staff from both sides separated the players, and a visibly frustrated Hamza walked off angrily. That tournament left Bangladesh short of confidence, and the new faces and returning players are meant to help rebuild it.
Bangladesh are hosting the SAFF Championship for the first time since 2018, with the tournament at the National Stadium in Dhaka. They have won the title only once, in 2003, when they hosted it for the first time.