Hosts Nepal will play Bhutan in the inaugural match of the six-nation First South Asian Federation Football (SAFF) Under-19 Championship beginning on Thursday (Aug 20) at ANFA complex at Saldobato in Lalitpur, Kathmandu.
The match will kick off at 3:30 pm (Nepalese time).
While addressing a press conference in Kathmandu on Wednesday ahead of the opening match, coach of Nepal U-19 Football team and former national player Bal Gopal Maharjan said they are capable of winning SAFF title in every age group, according to GoalNepal.com.
Bangladesh, which left Dhaka for Kathmandu on Tuesday with a hope to clinch the title, have been placed in Group A along with hosts Nepal and Bhutan while Group B team consists of India, Afghanistan and the Maldives.
Masuk Miah Jony, a midfielder of Dhaka Mohammedan SC, is leading the Bangladesh Youth (Under-19) team.
In another pre-match press conference at ANFA complex on Wednesday, Bangladesh coach Saiful Bari Titu said, “We are here to give our best, we want go step by step and our target is to reach semifinal first.”
“We have just won SAFF U-16 Champs and people back home have huge faith on us. Their support has inspired us to do well in this competition,” he added.
Bangladesh will start their SAFF Under-19 campaign taking on Bhutan on Saturday (Aug 22) at 3:30 pm (Nepalese time) and will face hosts Nepal on Monday (Aug 24) at the same time, venue of which yet to be finalised.
On completion of the group matches, the two semifinal matches will be held on August 27 — the first semis at 12 noon while the 2nd one at 3:30 pm.
The final match will commence on Aug 29 at 3 pm.
