Jessore ready to rumble

The Shamsul Huda Stadium is ready to host four matches of the fourth edition of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup as the Jessore Football Association (DFA), in association with local administration, has finished all necessary preparations ahead of today's opening match between hosts Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

It is the first time that Jessore is hosting part of an international tournament and the enthusiasm among the football loving people was felt in the old town of the south-east part of the country which has been decorated with 25 big archways and banners of the tournament set up at different points of Jessore city.

The stadium took a new look with fresh coats of paint in the galleries and a new boundary fence surrounding the ground inside the stadium. With the installation of the new fence, the football ground was shifted to the eastern part of the stadium. However that part looks in poor condition due to the uneven state of the pitch there and it may hinder the participating teams from displaying good football.

There has been high demand for tickets as the stadium has 12,000 capacity. Tickets have been selling at 20 points including Upazila Nirbahi Offices and Deputy Commissioner Office yesterday but it was seen the enthusiastic spectators were lining up for the tickets at the DFA office.

“It is true there is a huge demand for tickets but we can't meet such demand. 10,000 tickets are available for the general spectators while 2000 tickets have been distributed among the stakeholders as complimentary tickets,” said DFA president Asaduzzaman Mithu.

During the international friendly between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh held in 2014, the spectators broke the fence and entered the ground, but Mithu assured that they would not allow such an incident to occur again in the Bangabandhu Gold Cup.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Nepal have already reached the city while other four teams -- Bangladesh Olympic team, Bahrain, Cambodia and Maldives -- will head to Jessore gradually ahead of their respective matches.