“It’s a great day for Bangladesh hockey as the national team got the inspiration to look forward to the Asia Cup, which returns to Bangladesh after a span of 32 years. We are confident of hosting it efficiently. I thank the First Security Islami Bank for the assistance,” said BHF general secretary Abdus Sadeque.Sadeque added, “The last time the Asia Cup was held in Dhaka was back in 1985. It was played on grass. Now it will be held on astro-turf. The tournament has a very strong line-up and we hope to see a fighting Bangladesh in it. We hope to finish sixth in the eight-team event.” Bangladesh are currently in China to play eight warm-up matches. The federation is also mulling organising a number of practice games at home. Bangladesh’s planned India tour at the end of next month has been called off.
First Security Islami Bank on Tuesday became the official title sponsor of the Bangladesh hockey team, ahead of the 2017 Asia Cup Hockey, scheduled to get underway on October 12 in Dhaka.
The Bangladesh Hockey Federation signed a contract with the sponsor, who will provide a purse of Tk1.5 crore for the national side’s preparation and participation in Asia’s biggest hockey event.
As part of the deal, First Security Islami Bank will also co-sponsor the tournament.
A press conference was held at the Bangladesh Olympic Association auditorium where the details of the agreement were revealed.
