Bangladesh Premier League outfit Brothers Union officially withdrew their name from the King’s Cup in Bhutan citing player crisis Wednesday.
Brothers Union and Team BJMC were picked by Bangladesh Football Federation as the representative of the country, but now BJMC will be the lone outfit from the country.
Amer Khan, the manager of Brothers Union, explained the causes behind the pullout. “We have formed our team focusing the next season and we found that most of the footballers don’t possess their passports. We could have taken players from other clubs, but most of the clubs are reluctant to release their best players. It was impossible for us to form a balanced team that is capable of playing an international meet,” said Amer who was the manager of Brothers when it won the Bordoloi Trophy in Assam back in 2005.
BFF general secretary Abu Naeem Shohag said a couple of Bangladesh Championship League sides are also interested to play in the King’s Cup and one club will be picked in due time.
As per the schedule, Brothers Union were pitted in group A alongside Indian powerhouse Mohun Bagan AC and Bhutan’s national league champions Yeedzin FC. The group also featured two teams from Nepal, LHM Manang Club and Machhindra FC. Meanwhile, the other BPL side Team BJMC is placed in group B of the nine-team meet in Bhutan. Nepal’s Three Star Club, India’s United Sikkim FC and host team Thimphu City FC are the other three faces of the group. The 21-day long tournament is scheduled to get underway on July 20.
