Nilphamari: The Dhaka stadiums might not see much football enthusiasts nowadays, but cities other than the capital have the right to flaunt their football-crazy crowds.
On Sunday, the tickets for the international friendly between the Bangladesh and Sri Lanka football teams, scheduled for August 29 at the Sheikh Kamal Stadium at Nilphamari, was sold out within an hour after release.
This will the first ever international football friendly match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the Nilphamari stadium.
Locals are hyped about the much anticipated match and the upcoming battle between the Tigers and the Lions are now the talk of the town.
Niphamari District Sports council president and former National Football Team captain Arif Hossain told reporters that all 12,500 tickets were sold out within one hour in 11 designated bank branches.
“People are waiting for the match with excitement,” he added.
The sports official said total of 21,359 tickets were released and the rest of it will be sold in Upazila and Union levels, while one thousand tickets are for women and 359 tickets are for VIPs.
The Sri Lankan visitors already reached Rangpur for the match on Monday afternoon and team Bangladesh will go there on Tuesday. Both the teams will be staying in a hotel in Rangpur and will start for the venue from there.
The football federations of the two countries arranged the friendly to prepare for the upcoming SAFF Suzuki Cup 2018, which will take place in Dhaka from September 4.
