Bangladesh Football Federation has sounded out an alert to all the respective security agencies and requested them to look after the safety of the foreign coaches and players currently staying in the country following the killing of Italian citizen Cesare Tavella in the capital last Monday.
The Under-19 sides of Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan are in Dhaka right now to take part in the upcoming AFC Championship qualifiers, scheduled for October 2-6.
On the other hand, Bangladesh’s Italian head coach Fabio Lopez, along with his two assistants - Costantino Zuccarini and Angelo Pavia – are training the national team at BKSP, Savar.
BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag informed the media that nobody from the Italian Embassy in Dhaka contacted them regarding the security of the coaching trio. Shohag added that the Italian coaches themselves are “hardly bothered” with the recent developments.
“After watching the news, we talked with the three Italian coaches and requested them to inform us before they make any movement on the streets. They are not bothered with the security issue. We also informed the BKSP authority to ensure full-proof security. We gave the same message to goalkeeping coach (Christian Schweichler), who is now in Dhaka. We also requested him to inform the team management whenever he moves,” said Shohag yesterday.
When queried to provide the security details of the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers, Shohag said, “We have an internal meeting [yesterday] where this will be discussed. We always try to provide maximum security. Now, we may do it in an even better way.”
Last Saturday, the Australian cricket team delayed their planned departure to Bangladesh after being warned by its government that there was a potential security risk from militants. The killing of Italian Tavella took place just two days later.
Asian football champions Australia are also scheduled to play a 2018 Fifa World Cup second round qualifier in Dhaka on November 17. Rumours are doing the rounds that the Football Federation of Australia might cancel their trip but Shohag termed the information “totally baseless”.
“Bangladesh successfully hosted many international tournaments before, including the Fifa international friendly between Argentina and Nigeria. Recently, the AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers and the Saff U-16 Championship were held successfully. And, the AFC U-19 Championship qualifiers are starting in two days’ time. We hope everything will go according to plan,” said Shohag.
