Thailand trip cancelled, U-20 side to train at home

Visa complications have forced Bangladesh to scrap their Under-20 men's football team's preparatory tour of Thailand on Friday just days before the AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualifiers in Uzbekistan.

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) had arranged warm-up matches in Thailand against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Indonesia. However, visa processing delays disrupted travel schedules, forcing the federation to cancel the tour.

Even though visas were finally cleared on Thursday following efforts by BFF president Tabith Awal, the delays had already caused Bangladesh to miss their planned friendly against the UAE on 18 August.

With flight arrangements left uncertain, Indonesia also arranged a match against another opponent, leaving the team with no international fixtures to play in Thailand.

With the foreign trip called off, the team will now remain in Dhaka and play two practice matches against local clubs Fortis FC and Police FC, both of which are in active training.

Confidence in the youth setup has been high since Bangladesh won the SAFF Under-20 Championship in April. The squad underwent several weeks of training at the Shams-Ul-Huda Football Academy in Jashore before shifting camp to Dhaka four days ago, where they have been training at the Kamalapur Stadium despite concerns about the pitch's condition.

British head coach Gerard Jones has finalised a 23-member squad for the tournament, featuring five expatriate players to boost the side.

Bangladesh have been placed in Group B of the qualifiers alongside hosts Uzbekistan, Syria, and neighbours India. They will open their campaign against Uzbekistan on 31 August, followed by matches against Syria on 3 September and India on 6 September.

The eight group winners and the seven best runners-up will advance to the final tournament of the AFC U-20 Asian Cup.