BFF announces Bangladesh's group-stage schedule of FIFA ASEAN Cup

Bangladesh will kick off their campaign at the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 against Malaysia on September 25, as the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) announced the group-stage match schedule on Wednesday.

In the 14-team tournament, set to begin on September 24, Bangladesh are slotted in Group A of Division 1.

Bangladesh’s other two opponents in the group are Singapore and hosts Indonesia, who they will face on September 28 and October 1, respectively.

All three matches will take place at the Gelora Bun Karno Stadium in Jakarta.

The matches against Malaysia and Singapore will begin at 3:00 PM Bangladesh Standard Time (BST), and the tie against Indonesia will commence at 6:30 PM (BST).

Bangladesh are guaranteed to play a fourth match in the tournament no matter where they finish in the group.

According to the tournament format, after the group-stage concludes, Bangladesh will play a cross-group match with the corresponding team from Group B, which includes Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Pakistan, to decide their position in the tournament.

The two top placed teams will play the final.

This is the inaugural edition of the competition. Bangladesh were initially not a part of the tournament but were invited as eeplacement for India, who opted out as they prioritised a FIFA friendly against Brazil at home instead.

Last month, a delegation from the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) had arrived in Dhaka, inspected the National Stadium and the Bashundhara Kings Arena in the capital, and had a discussion with Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) president Tabith Awal over the possibility of using them as neutral venues in future and about staging a friendly between Bangladesh and Brazil in Dhaka on October 5 or 6.

In a statement, the BFF had said that it would soon begin formal talks with the CBF about the friendly against Brazil but no updates have come out since.

Some BFF officials had hinted about seeking government support to bear the expense of the Brazil friendly, but the State Minister for Youth and Sports Aminul Haque told the press that the ministry is not keen on spending to host a friendly.