Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 Matches Got Canceled

BFF agrees with AFC proposal for Postponement of Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 Matches Due Coronavirus Outbreak

The Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 of FIFA World Cup’2022 and AFC Asian Cup’2023 was hit by Coronavirus threat. The higher authority of Asian football, Asian Football Confederation (AFC), postponed the upcoming matches which were scheduled to take place in March and June.

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has agreed to the AFC’s proposal for the postponement of matches as the country also found people affected with coronavirus.

AFC sent the letter of postponement to its Participating Member Associations (PMAs) including Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on Monday after their Emergency Meeting which was recently organized for national and club competitions 2020.

The higher authority of Asian football wrote in their letter: “Reference is made to the above matter and we have taken note of the issues and various travel restrictions affecting the smooth delivery of upcoming Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 matches scheduled to be played in March and June 2020.”

“AFC has consulted with FIFA and collectively agreed to postpone the upcoming matches Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 as follows:

1.       Matches originally scheduled to take place in March and June 2020 are postponed to later dates.

2.       FIFA and AFC will discuss further details of postponed matches and communicate to Participating Member Associations (PMAs) in due course.

3.       PMAs may still play the matches in March or June 2020 upon mutual agreement, provided the safety and health concerns of all individuals involved meet the required standards, subject to prior approval by FIFA and AFC.

AFC and FIFA will continue to assess the situation and decide whether further changes to the schedule of Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2 are required with the aim of protecting the well-being and health of all individuals concerned.”

BFF postponed all the matches of Bangladesh National Football Team in home and away. The men in red and green were scheduled to be played three home matches against Afghanistan on March 31, India on June 4, Oman on June 9 and an away match against Qatar on March 31.

After the decision, BFF General Secretary Md Abu Nayeem Shohag to the media at BFF House in Motijheel, “We got the letter from AFC on Monday. AFC have been discussing with FIFA since their last meeting on Coronavirus held in Zurich on Thursday. We were expecting something like that. AFC has sent the formal letter to its all PMAs including BFF. After getting the letter, BFF President Kazi Md Salahuddin hold a meeting with National Team Committee and medical team. We have talked to all concerned authorities of the BFF regarding this matter and decided to agree to the proposal as Bangladesh also found people affected with coronavirus and decided to go with the AFC’s decision.”

“All agreed that the condition is not favorable. Afghanistan have also agreed with the decision. So, our four matches of FIFA, AFC joint qualifiers in March and June will not be held as per the schedule… AFC hasn’t rescheduled the date yet. We can confirm the date after their [AFC] directives,” he added.

About the foreign staff of BFF, Shohag said, “We will not arrange any matches in the circumstances. Coach and other foreign staffs can return their countries. They are asking for leave and we will accept their request. We have informed about it to the National Team Committee. After having their official confirmation, the coach and foreign staff will take their decision soon that whenever they are leaving for their home country.”

About the AFC and other domestic league matches, the BFF general secretary said, “We will continue our ongoing domestic leagues. We are also going to hold the AFC Cup match between Bashundhara Kings and TC Sports Club of Maldives on March 11 in Dhaka. We have discussed with the Embassy of the Maldives. We don’t have any foreign fans in these competitions. We will keep ready our medical team for local fans.”

Meanwhile, Bangladesh were put in Group E of double-leg basis joint qualifiers alongwith Qatar, Oman, India and Afghanistan. They started their campaign in qualifiers with a 0-1 defeat against Afghanistan in the first match in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe on September 10, conceded a 0-2 goals defeat against Asian champions Qatar in the second match in Dhaka on October 10, played to a 1-1 draw against India in their third match in Kolkata on October 15 and conceded 1-4 goals defeat against Oman in the fourth match at the Seeb Sports Stadium in Al Seeb city of Oman on November 14 last year.