BD U-19 take on Maldives in SAFF U-19 Champ today

Sports Reporter:

Bangladesh Under-19 Football team will take on Maldives Under-19 Football team in the opening match of the Group-A of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-19 Championship today at the Golden Jubilee Stadium in Arunachal Province of India.

The match will kick-off at 4:30pm (Bangladesh Standard Time).

A total of six team’s splitting into two groups are competing in the SAFF Under-19 Championship, the most prestigious football meet for the youth footballers of the South Asian Region. All the matches will be held at the same venue.

Defending champions Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan are in Group-A, while India, Nepal, Sri Lanka are in Group-B.

Bangladesh will face Bhutan in their second Group-A match at the same venue on May 11. The match will also start at 4:30pm.

Top two team’s from each group will vie in the semi-finals.

The champions of Group-A will face the runners-up of the Group-B in the first semi-final on May 16, while the champions of Group-B will meet the runners-up of the Group-A in the second semi-final on the same day.

The winning team of the two semi-finals will face each other in the in the final on May 18. The gala final will start at 7.:30pm.

Marking the upcoming opening match, Bangladesh team took part in their practice session at the match venue on Wednesday last.

Head Coach of Bangladesh Golam Rabbani Choton said, ” We traveled a long time. Then, we took rest. My boys are now in a good shape. If they can perform their usual show, they will bring a good result.”

Central defender Ashikur Rahman said, ” The weather is very good. Our first match is against Maldives. We want to start with a happy note. We want to win match-by-match and then want to play in the final.”