UNB, Chittagong :The first edition of the Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup football tournament kicks off at MA Aziz Stadium here today (Tuesday) amid huge enthusiasm among the local football fans. Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) president and South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) president Kazi Salahuddin is expected to inaugurate the tournament as the chief guest.Dhaka Abahani Ltd will take on Karachi Electric FC (KEFC) of Pakistan in the eleven-day meet opener at 4:30pm while host Chittagong Abahani Ltd face Kingfisher East Bengal FC of India in the other opening day match at 7:30 pm at the same venue.At a press conference at a city’s hotel on Monday, all the participating teams expressed the hope to win the title of the eight-team tournament comprising five nations.Dhaka Abahani Ltd coach Mazid Shafique said, “Our first target is to be group champion. We did a good practice and our players are fit.”Captain Pranotosh Kumar Das said, “No team playing the tournament is weak. All are taking part in the tournament for the title. However, our first target is to win the first match.”KEFC coach Majid Shafique said, “We’ve prepared ourselves with a three-month hard practice for the tournament.”Hoping a better performance, he said, “We are focusing on our target and will try to execute our plan.”Chittagong Abahani Ltd coach Shafiqul Islam Manik said, “We’ll play for a good result depending on our practice, tactics and on fortune.”Emphasising collective performances on the match day, Kingfisher East Bengal FC (Kolkata, India) coach Biswajit Bhattacarya said, “We never think anything but to be the champion.”Kolkata Mohammedan Sporting Club coach Subrata Bhattacharya said, “We must win; all the sides came here to win, but performing in the ground is the main thing.”Kolkata Mohammedan Sporting Club will play Solid FC of Sri Lanka on Wednesday at 4:30 pm while Dhaka Mohammedan SC Ltd will face De Spingher Bazan FC of Afghanistan at 7:30 pm on the day.Dhaka Abahani practised at MA Aziz Stadium on Monday while Chittagong Abahai practiced at Bandar Stadium.Kingfisher East Bengla FC and Karachi Elictric FC practised at Dampara Ploice Line in the city. Leading soccer clubs of South Asia, most of which are the league champions, alongside three crowd-pulling teams of hosts Bangladesh, will compete in the AFC approved (International Tier-2) tournament scheduled for Oct 20-30.Dhaka Mohammedan SC, Kolkata Mohammedan SC, De Spin Ghar Bazan FC (Afghanistan) and Solid FC of Sri Lanka were put in Group A while Dhaka Abahani Ltd, Kolkata Kingfisher East Bengal FC, Karachi Electric FC (Pakistan) and Chittagong Abahani Ltd placed in Group B.On completion of the first round league basis group matches on Oct 25, top two teams from each of the group will play the semifinals on October 27 and 28 respectively while the final match will be held on October 30. The champion team will get prize money of $US 25,000, runners-up team will receive prize money of $US 10,000 and the all participating will get appearance money of Tk 5 lakh each.One spectator will be given a motorcycle every day through lottery on tickets.Participating teams will get both-way international and local air fares, accommodation and local transports during the meet. The ticket prices are fixed at Tk 50 for gallery and Tk 100 for pavilion for group stage matches. Channel 9 will telecast live all the matches.Remaining fixture of the tournament:Oct 22: Kingfisher East Bengal FC vs Karachi Electric FC (4:30 pm),Dhaka Abahani Ltd vs Chittagong Abahani (7:30 pm)Oct 23: Dhaka Mohammedan SC vs Solid FC (Sri Lanka) (4:30 pm),Kolkata Mohammedan SC vs De Spin Gher Bazan FC (7:30 pm)Oct 24: Karachi Electric FC vs Chittagong Abahani (4:30 pm) Dhaka Abahani Ltd vs Kingfisher East Bengal FC (7:30 pm)Oct 25: De Spin Gher Bazan FC vs Solid FC (Sri Lanka) (4;30 pm) Dhaka Mohammedan SC vs Kolkata Mohammedan (7:30 pm)
