Bangladesh begin ASEAN Cup preparations

The Bangladesh national football team begins its training camp on Thursday ahead of the FIFA ASEAN Cup, with 27 of the 28 players reporting to team manager Amer Khan. Goalkeeper Mitul Marma will join the camp in a few days due to family issues.

The players will take to the pitch for their first training session on Friday at Kings Arena.

Bangladesh secured a spot in the ASEAN Cup after India withdrew. Although there were initial doubts over whether they would accept FIFA’s invitation, those concerns have now been settled, with Jamal Bhuyan and his teammates preparing to represent the country in Indonesia.

Head coach Thomas Dooley has prioritised the tournament, starting preparations nearly a month early amid delays to the domestic football season.

Appointed on May 22, Dooley made an immediate impact by guiding Bangladesh to a historic 2-1 victory over San Marino on June 5—the country’s first win against a European side on European soil.

With the domestic league yet to begin, Dooley has had limited opportunities to assess his squad.

“Our league has not started yet. The transfer window is still ongoing, but since the clubs have not been able to start yet, the National Team Management Committee decided, after discussing it with the coach, that we should try to start earlier. That is why the players were called up from tomorrow; full training will begin,” Amer said.

The preliminary squad consists entirely of domestic-based players, with expatriates such as Hamza Choudhury and Shamit Shome absent. National team committee member Iqbal Hossain said expatriates could join the team later in Indonesia.

Defender Topu Barman welcomed the early camp ahead of the ASEAN Cup and November’s home SAFF Championship.

“The first week will be a little difficult because we have been out of football for a long time,” Topu said.

“We have two major assignments... and during this period we need to show the understanding and seriousness required between us. We will play the SAFF Championship in November, and before that we will play such a big tournament. This is a very, very positive thing for us.”