A 23 members Bangladesh Football team left for Male at Bangladesh afternoon for participating in the 13 th South Asian Football (SAF) football Championship with a pledge for winning the Championship. 

The five nations “SAF Championship 2021” is being held in Maldives from October 1-15,2021. Off the five Bangladesh stands 4th at ICC ranking only above Sri Lanka. Bangladesh over the last four championship events could not even qualify for the semifinals. This time under a changed management Bangladesh sounded optimistic for going all the way. The FIFA rankings though are India (107), Maldives (160), Nepal (168), Bangladesh (189) and Sri Lanka (205), This time five teams would play in the round robin league with two top teams meeting in the final. Bangladesh starts its mission playing against Sri Lanka the only team having lower standing. BFF could not get FIFA clearance for the Nigerian turned Bangladeshi striker Elita Kingsley. 

The Squad: 
Goal Keepers: Anisur Rahman, Sohidul Alam, Ashraful Islam 
Defenders: Biswanath Ghosh, Topu Barman, Tarik Kazi, Tutul Hossain, Rahmat Mia, Riadul Hasan, Yasir Arafat. Mohammad Hridoy 
Mid Fielders: Atiqur Rahman, Sohel Rana, Jamal Bhuiyan (Captain), Rakib Hasan 
Forwards: Mahbubur Rahman, Mohammad Ibrahim, Motin Mia, Jewel Rana, Sumon Reza, Biplu Ahmed
Coach: Oscar William Brujon Barreras, Manager: Satyajit Das Rupu. 

SAF championship is considered as the World Cup of South Asian Countries. The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship kicked off in Lahore in 1993, evolving out of its forerunner, the South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (SAARC) Gold Cup. Since its inception, the biennial competition has developed into South Asia's premier football tournament, promoting the regional development of the game. The SAFF Championship 2001 was first postponed from Oct/Nov 2001 to Jan/Feb 2002 due to the suspension of the Bangladesh Football Federation from FIFA; the tournament finally took place in 2003. The 2018 edition was hosted by Bangladesh. 

The 2021 edition of the tournament was postponed twice to October 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Track Records: 

Afghanistan joined SAAF in 2005 and left the association in 2015 to become a founding member of Central Asian Football Federation (CAAF). 

[photo collected]

It would be tough ask for Bangladesh doing well in SAF this time as nothing is going well for the team in the recent past. They finished last in their qualifying group (India, Qatar, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan). Just recently in preparation for SAF Bangladesh played against Jerusalem and Kirgizstan. They were routed in both matches (0-5).  Following that Coach Jemi Day was sacked and Oscar W Brujon who has been very successful coach for local Team Bashundhra FC was hurriedly inducted as head coach. It would be an acid test for Bangladesh to prove that the present state of the team does not necessarily reflect what the team is really capable of. Most of the members of the team are playing together for a while.

Head Coach in a press meet did not agree that Bangladesh players cannot hold balls, can no pass or score. All that requires he thought believing in oneself and confidence. He would definitely adopt all out attacks instead of defending most of the time. 

It cannot be denied that Bangladesh cannot score goals But with a good number 9 there is no reason why Bangladesh cannot open opportunities and score. That is what Oscar felt. 

Experts observe that if Bangladesh national team strikers stays on the side bench for the local teams where foreign players are relied mostly for scoring Bangladesh strikers cannot grow. BFF would have done better if they could secure FIFA approval for Elita Kinsley the Nigerian who has taken Bangladesh citizenship. His addition could have boosted Bangladesh.
 
Hope Bangladesh performs well. Making a good start against Sri Lanka would mean a lot. 

BDST: 1545 HRS, SEP 28, 2021
SMS