Bangladesh, Brazil to formally begin work on staging Dhaka friendly, says BFF
The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) will formally begin working towards staging a friendly match between Brazil and Bangladesh in Dhaka in October following the Brazil delegation’s visit, said a BFF official on Monday.
“The discussions with our president yesterday were quite positive. The two federations will formally start working on this going forward,” BFF executive member Sakhawat Hossain Bhuiyan Shaheen told reporters.
On Sunday, a five-member delegation from CBF made a surprise visit to Dhaka, inspecting the facilities at the National Stadium and the Bashundhara Kings Arena in the capital before a courtesy meeting with BFF president Tabith Awal at night.
Reports started coming in at midnight that Brazil are keen to play Bangladesh on October 6, the final day of the FIFA international window.
On Monday, the BFF issued an official statement about the visit. According to the statement, Brazilian officials expressed satisfaction with the playing surfaces at both venues but said further infrastructure development was needed in dressing rooms, technical rooms and security gates. They noted these upgrades could be completed within a short timeframe.
The FIFA window runs from September 19 to October 6, during which a team can play a maximum of four matches. Brazil will play two friendlies in Australia on September 25 and 29 before facing India in Kolkata on October 3.
Bangladesh, meanwhile, are committed to the FIFA ASEAN Cup in Indonesia from September 24 to October 4, where they are set to play at least four matches — using up their window quota and complicating FIFA recognition for any October 6 fixture.
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.
But Sakhawat was confident about securing funds for the match.
“Funds shouldn’t really be a problem for a good initiative. Our president will certainly take steps. Support will also be sought from the sports minister and the government. A match like this has to be organised with government support.”