The ceremonial draw of the season's curtain-raiser soccer meet, the Independence Cup Football Tournament 2023, was held at the BFF conference room in Motijheel on Monday.

The vice president of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) and chairman of the BFF Development Committee, Ataur Rahman Bhuiyan Manik, was present, among others, at the day's ceremony draw.

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In all 13 teams, ten teams from the Premier Division League and three teams from the qualifying round, split into four groups, will compete in the meet, beginning on October 27 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.

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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 the completion of league-based group matches on November 3, the top two teams from each group will play in the quarterfinals, which will begin on December 2, after a break for the AFC Cup and the engagements of the national team.

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The champions team will receive a prize of Tk5 lakh while the runners-up team will get Tk3 lakh.