Mystery camp planned for national footballers

The Bangladesh national football team will start their SAFF Championship preparation in secretive fashion, with the National Team Committee having decided to keep the players away from the media. Dutch coaches Lodewijk de Kruif and Rene Koster are expected to take the charge of the team before the training camp, for a two-year term starting on July 1. The venue of the month–long conditioning camp of the Bangladesh national football team starting from July 1 will not be disclosed to the media. Even the players will not be informed of the location until they reach the venue, said, BFF vice president Tabith Awal yesterday. The initiative has been arranged so that the players can concentrate solely on the game, he added. Bangladesh performed poorly in the previous SAFF Championship, and appears to be taking the upcoming edition, which starts in Nepal in September, seriously. Initially, 40 players will be named in the preliminary squad – four players for each position – before the squad is reduced to 30 players within three days. Before the SAFF championship, Bangladesh is expected to play friendly matches against Thailand and Malaysia at home. Two other teams from the Middle East may also be opponents.  “We play against them so they  can tune themselves up for their ASEAN Cup, I hope they will also help us in that way, so we can prepare ourselves for the SAFF Championship,” said Tabith.