Under-17s to begin AFC Cup Qualifiers preps on Oct 3

The Bangladesh team will begin preparations for the upcoming AFC U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers on October 3 at the Shams Ul Huda Academy in Jashore. The team returned home from Sri Lanka after a heartbreaking penalty shootout loss to India in the SAFF U-17 Championship final on Saturday.

Golam Rabbani Choton's charges performed impressively in the group-stage matches against Nepal and Sri Lanka, as well as in the semifinal against Pakistan. However, they fell to India in the final for the third consecutive time.

Bangladesh have been drawn in Group A alongside hosts China, Bahrain, Brunei, Timor-Leste, and Sri Lanka, with the group-stage matches set to begin on November 22.

BFF Development Committee chairman and vice-president Shahrear Nasser Zahedee remained optimistic ahead of the qualifiers, where Bangladesh will face opponents from beyond South Asia -- a challenge they have historically struggled with.

"I'm confident the boys will do better in the AFC Cup Qualifiers, using their experience from the SAFF Championship. They'll be eager to bounce back after losing the final on penalties," Zahedee said following a development committee meeting at the BFF House on Sunday.

Read more

U-17s fall at final shootout

"We've identified the areas where we fell short and are committed to addressing them. By October 10, we aim to enhance support for the U-17 squad after they join camp on October 3," he added. "We plan to bring in a video analyst and a psychologist, and we're mobilising all necessary resources for the team's development."

The U-17 team have been in residential training since July 25 and will continue their preparations before travelling to China for the qualifiers. Zahedee also stressed the importance of practice matches to improve the team's cohesion and performance.

"As a layman, I feel the boys need continuous training and regular warm-up matches. Playing more games alongside training will help them improve faster," said Zahedee.

The BFF vice-president also praised the team's individual achievements in the SAFF U-17 Championship. "They deserve congratulations for their spirited performance. Though they couldn't lift the trophy, Alif [Rahman] was named the best goalkeeper, [Nazmul Huda] Faisal the tournament's most valuable player, and four of our players won player-of-the-match awards -- which are significant individual accomplishments."