Saintfiet, Smalley set for BFF deals

Following a two-week vacation, Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet is set to arrive in Dhaka on Wednesday morning to take charge of the Bangladesh football team. Saintfiet is yet to sign the official contract with the Bangladesh Football Federation and nothing has been finalised. Newly-appointed technical and strategical advisor Paul Smalley, on the other hand, is expected to pen the deal soon. “Saintfiet will land in Dhaka at 4:45am in the morning. We will sit in a meeting with both Saintfiet and Smalley. Hopefully we can finalise a date of the signing [on Wednesday],” said BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag on Tuesday. The 43-year old coach will watch the sixth-round matches of the Bangladesh Premier League, starting from Wednesday. The national team will begin their residential training camp this Sunday ahead of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Play-offs against Bhutan, slated for September 6 and October 10.