The 13-team final round of the Independence Cup 2023, the curtain raiser soccer meet of the season, begins Friday (October 27) at three different venues across the country.
Sheikh Russel KC will play Rahmatganj MFS in a Group B match at 2:30 pm on Friday at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in the capital.
BFF Vice -President M Imrul Hasan will inaugurate the meet as the chief guest at the Bashundhara Kings Arena while another BFF Vice- President M Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan (Manik) will also present the function as the special guest.
Former champions Dhaka Abahani Limited will face Bangladesh Air Force in another Group B match at 2:30 pm at Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj while Bangladesh Police FC will meet Brothers Union Club, also at 2:30 pm at the Bir Shreshtha FL.Lt Shaheed Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj, in other two opening day's matches on Friday.
Two matches will be held the following day (Saturday)
Three-time champions Dhaka Mohammedan SC will meet Bangladesh Army at 2:30 pm while defending champions Bashundhara Kings will encounters Bangladesh Navy at 6 pm, both at the Bashundhara Kings Arena on Saturday
Thirteen teams, ten teams of the Premier Division League and three teams from the qualifying round, split into four groups, will compete in the meet at three different venues across the country.
Of the Tournament's 15 group matches, eight matches will be held at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka, three matches at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj and the rest four matches at the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Motiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj.
Grouping of the meet:
Group A-Bangladesh Police, Sheikh Jamal DC and Brothers Union Club
Group B- Dhaka Abahani Ltd, Sheikh Russel KC, Rahmatganj MFS and Bangladesh Air Force.
Group C - Dhaka Mohammedan SC, Fortis FC and Bangladesh Army.
Group D- Bashundhara Kings, Chittagong Abahani Ltd and Bangladesh Navy
On completion of league basis group matches, top two teams from each of the four groups will play in the quarterfinals to be held on December 3 and 4
after a month-long break for the AFC Cup and FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The two semifinals will be held on December 7
The champions team will receive a prize money of Tk five lakhs while the runners-up team will get Tk three lakhs..