Fani spoils the final party

Bangladesh and Laos were yesterday declared joint champions of the Bangamata U-19 Women’s International Gold Cup after the final was cancelled considering the severity of cyclonic storm Fani and the impact it has had over the country.

The Bangabandhu National Stadium was all set to host that which promised to be a mouth-watering clash between the two best sides of the tournament, and there was no shortage of enthusiasm from fans as nearly 4000 spectators braved the drizzles to turn up at the big bowl, only to learn 20 minutes after the scheduled kick-off that the final was cancelled.

“Despite having all the preparations to hold the final in presence of enthusiastic spectators, the organising committee has decided to cancel the final match due to the horrifying natural disaster – Fani – as well as the country’s overall situation,” Abdus Salam Murshedy, chairman of the organising committee of the tournament, briefed journalists at the press box some 20 minutes after the scheduled kick-off time.

“For the cancelation of the final, the BFF apologises to all its stakeholders, declaring the two finalists as joint champions,” added Murshedy.

Even though Laos manager Galdansukh Tuvshinbayear expressed her frustration at not being able to play the final, she respected the decision of the game’s local governing body.

“From our team’s perspective, we are not happy with the decision because we were eager to play the final. However, we must respect this decision of the Bangladesh Football Federation,” said Tuvshinbayear during the briefing.

“I don’t think anyone wanted such an end to this tournament but the reality is some southern districts of the country have already been flooded and people are praying for reprieve from the cyclone. It is not desirable for anyone to be involved with a football festival in the capital. Considering all aspects, the BFF took the decision and we also accepted it after consulting with our sponsors,” said Fahad Karim, CEO of K-Sports, the commercial rights holder of the tournament.

Asked whether it was possible to cancel the match before it was announced or shift the match to a new day as the cyclone was forecasted a few days ago, Murshedy said, “For any international tournament, there is a schedule for the participating teams and you can’t postpone the match like a domestic engagement and hold it later. We also followed all the rules and regulations of FIFA and AFC and discussed it with the match commissioner as well as Laos team before taking the decision.”

Both Bangladesh and Laos stormed into the final with unbeaten records.  Bangladesh beat UAE 2-0 and Kyrgyzstan 2-1 in group stages before beating Mongolia 3-0 in semifinals. Laos, on the other hand, beat Tajikistan 5-0 and Mongolia 6-0 in group stages before inflicting a 7-1 defeat on Kyrgyzstan in semifinals.