The Bangladesh national soccer team is set to participate in a FIFA exhibition game against Nepal on November 13, as announced by Golam Gauss, the chairman of the BFF competitions committee. This decision came after Myanmar declined to play in Dhaka, leading to the cancellation of Bangladesh’s planned friendly match against Afghanistan.
Originally, Afghanistan was slated to host Myanmar for an AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers match on November 18. In a unique move, Bangladesh was chosen as the neutral ground for this fixture. In anticipation of this event, the BFF had organized a friendly game against Afghanistan at the National Stadium in Dhaka on November 13.
However, recent communications from BFF sources revealed that the Myanmar FA expressed their reluctance to travel to Bangladesh in a message to the Afghan Football Association. Subsequently, the Afghan FA conveyed this message to the BFF, requesting the cancellation of the November 13 friendly match.
In response to this development, the BFF reached out to the All Nepal Football Association and successfully persuaded the Nepal team to participate in a friendly match on November 13 in Dhaka.
Golam Gauss shared these details with The Daily Star, stating, “Nepal has agreed to play the FIFA friendly against Bangladesh. The ANFA has confirmed this decision.” He further explained, “Myanmar opted out of the match in Dhaka against Afghanistan. The discussions were primarily between Myanmar and Afghanistan, given that Afghanistan was the designated host for the AFC fixture. The cancellation of the AFC fixture led to Afghanistan canceling the friendly match as well.”
Bangladesh is scheduled to host India for an Asian Cup Qualifiers game in Dhaka on November 18. Earlier in September, the Bangladeshi team had traveled to Nepal for two FIFA friendlies but had to cut short their visit due to political unrest, resulting in the cancellation of the second match. The initial game had ended in a draw with no goals scored.