Bangladesh ready to take India’s ASEAN Cup spot

Bangladesh is poised to replace India in the upcoming FIFA ASEAN Cup after the Indian team made a late withdrawal from the tournament. 

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has already opened formal talks with FIFA and is now waiting for a final decision from world football's governing body.

BFF Vice-President Fahad Karim confirmed that discussions with FIFA are underway and the team has already started preparing for the event.

"FIFA wanted to know what our plans are for the September window and whether we are prepared to play in the ASEAN Cup," Karim said. "We have detailed our plans to FIFA. Discussions regarding playing in the ASEAN Cup have begun. We are now officially waiting for FIFA's decision. However, we have already started our preparations to take part in this tournament."

Sayeed Hassan Kanan, a member of the BFF Development Committee, explained how the federation reached its decision following an urgent phone call on Friday.

"As soon as the invitation arrived today (Friday), our president suddenly gave an emergency call," Kanan said. "He informed us that an opportunity had come up because India withdrew their name from the tournament. We had two options in front of us: one was to host a four-nation tournament in Dhaka, and the other was to go and play in the ASEAN Cup."

Kanan noted that the committee unanimously chose the international event over hosting a local competition.

"When the president asked us, we all agreed in one voice that we will play in the ASEAN Cup," Kanan added. "Since we have no expenses there plane fares, hotel fares are covered, and we might even get some funds it is completely zero cost here. Furthermore, playing in the ASEAN Cup means taking part in a FIFA tournament, which increases our relationship and engagement with FIFA. We gave that more importance. We are no longer thinking at a local level. To improve our team's performance, we have to play in the ASEAN Cup. Everyone gave their consent to participate in this tournament."

The tournament, which features 14 teams from the region, is scheduled to begin on 24 September. It is split into two sections, the Premier Division, which will be hosted by Indonesia, and the Challenge Division, which will be hosted by Hong Kong. Following India's exit, Bangladesh is in line to compete in the Premier Division alongside Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Pakistan.