U-18s eye maiden SAFF title

Last edition’s runners-up Bangladesh will leave for Nepal today to take part in the SAFF U-18 Championship with the hope of winning the regional youth title for the first time since its introduction in 2015.

Bangladesh had to be satisfied with a second-place finish two years ago in the last edition, which was held in round-robin format among five teams despite getting off to a brilliant start with a come-from-behind 4-3 win over India. However, they lost to Nepal 2-1 in their fourth and final match to finish second behind eventual champions Nepal despite having equal nine points.

The boys in red and green, who were eliminated from the semifinals of the inaugural edition in 2015 following a 4-3 defeat in tiebreaker against India, have been pitted against India and Sri Lanka in Group B this time. Group A features two-time champions Nepal alongside Maldives, Bhutan and Pakistan.

The tournament will get underway from September 20 at the APF Stadium in Kathmandu.

The current Bangladesh team features players mostly from the Bangladesh Premier League team, including recently-drafted national team player named Yeasin Arafat, who will captain the squad.

“This is different tournament. This is a different time; this is now and this is the future. Every team wants to win the championship and I also want to win it,” Bangladesh team’s coach Andrew Peter Turner said at a press briefing at the BFF house yesterday.

Captain Yeasin Arafat is confident of playing good football and producing good results.

“A lot of work has been done in all three departments. If we can give our best effort in respective positions, we can expect good results,” said Arafat, who was part of the national team squad for the World Cup qualifying fixture against Afghanistan.

Bangladesh will play their first match against Sri Lanka on September 21 before playing against India four days later.