No matches today as fixtures keep changing
While the Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup has created quite a bit of excitement among the football lovers in Chattogram and elsewhere, the tournament has also kept everyone guessing with its constant change of fixtures and teams.
In a pre-tournament event in Dhaka a week before the start, organisers had claimed that the third edition of this tournament would be the best one. While it remains to be seen whether the competition on the pitch lives up to the claim, a fixtures fiasco has already turned it into one of the most confusing events of recent times.
The tournament is being organised by Chattogram Abahani, with the Bangladesh Football Federation providing technical support. But when it comes to taking responsibility, neither party is willing to take the lead, instead shying away from it. The most disappointing aspect is the dissemination of information as there is no official spokesman to answer the queries, with different versions coming from different persons.
Even before the tournament started, the organisers continued to change the names of participating teams before settling on the final line-up for the ‘October 19-29’ tournament. But soon the dateline was shifted to October 19-30 to trim one match from the opening day to allow for an opening ceremony.
The big confusion started on the night of October 16 when Abahani -- one of the most popular clubs of the country -- withdrew their name. Gokulam Kerala were contacted to replace Abahani, but instead of the Indian club’s greenlight, the organisers could not officially confirm their participation, keeping the media and other participating teams guessing.
Eventually when the Kerala outfit were officially confirmed yesterday, the fixtures were altered twice within hours, with the first one scheduling one match each on October 21 and 22 before the second one fixed two matches on October 22, with October 21 as a rest day.
According to the latest schedule, there will be no matches today while Chennai City FC will take on Terengganu FC at 4:00pm tomorrow, followed by the match between Bashundhara Kings and Gokulam Kerala at 7:00pm.
The latest change in fixtures have been made to allow Chennai City FC, who were scheduled to arrive yesterday, and Gokulam Kerala, who are scheduled to arrive today, some preparation and adjustment time.
The change of date of these matches means the group stages will now end on October 26, with both semifinals taking place on October 28.
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