A 13-member first batch of the national football players left Dhaka for Saudi Arabia's Medina on a two-week tour for intensive training ahead of the Tri-Nation Cup 2023, to be held in Sylhet from March 20 to 28.
Brunei Darussalam (No. 190 in FIFA ranking), Seychelles (No. 199) and Bangladesh (No. 192) will compete in the nine-day tournament during the FIFA window.
On Thursday, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) picked 27 players for the national training camp for the Tri-Nation Cup Football Tournament.
Twelve players from Bashundhara Kings, six from former champions Dhaka Abahani, three from Sheikh Russel, two each from Fortis and Muktijoddha Sangsad, and one each from Dhaka Mohammedan and Bangladesh Police earned a call-up to the camp.
The first batch of players led by Bangladesh national team head coach Javier Fernández Cabrera of Spain left the capital Sunday 1:15am.
The second batch of players will fly for Medina Monday also at 1:15am.
Bangladesh defender Tariq Raihan Kazi, now in Finland, will directly join the team in Medina.
Two other players – Sheikh Russel forward Mohammad Ibrahim and Police midfielder Rabiul Hasan – will not accompany the team in the second batch due to problems with their passports.
However, they will join the team later.