Considering the growing excitement among football fans, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is taking several initiatives surrounding the upcoming match between Bangladesh and Singapore.
Scheduled for June, the match holds great significance for Bangladesh football for multiple reasons. One of the main highlights could be the home debut of Hamza Choudhury in the red and green jersey. Hamza, who has become a prominent figure in Bangladeshi football, might play his first match on home soil. Given the buzz, BFF is making several preparations to ensure everything is in place.
Bangladesh is planning to play against Singapore on June 10 at the Dhaka National Stadium as part of the third round of Asian Cup qualifiers. Preparations are underway, with full-scale work going on at the stadium. After officially taking charge of the venue from the National Sports Council (NSC), BFF is now focusing on bringing the stadium up to international standards.
It’s not just Hamza who might feature in this match. Other foreign-based players like Canada’s Samit Som, Fahamidul Islam from Italy’s Serie D, and Cuba Mitchell, who plays for Sunderland, are also in contention. Fans are eager to see these players in action, and BFF plans to ensure their experience is worthwhile. After a meeting on Thursday, Competition Committee member Tajwar Auwal shared some updates:
“We want to bring fans back to the stadium. To make it easier for them to attend, we’ve discussed various aspects of the venue today. We’ll sell tickets online. Ticket prices will be finalized after discussions with the marketing committee and the federation. The federation will officially announce it later. We also plan to set up a fan zone where fans can enjoy the match while seated comfortably.”
Although the official capacity of the National Stadium is said to be 36,000, renovations over the years have reduced that number. As such, seating arrangements and ticket pricing are still under discussion, according to Tajwar. However, the plan includes selling “18,300 tickets for general seating” and upgrading the stadium to meet international standards.
“Our main goal is to make fans happy and bring them back to the stands. We’ll have more meetings soon to make our National Stadium truly worthy of its name—on par with international venues.”
“AFC representatives had given us some observations for improvements. We’ve already discussed these with the NSC and hope to have everything completed by May 22.”
Bangladesh began its qualification campaign with a goalless draw against India in Shillong last March. Singapore also drew 0-0 in their opening game against Hong Kong. All four teams in Group C currently stand with one point each.
