Bashundhara Kings will play former champions Dhaka Abahani Limited in a high voltage 2nd semifinal of the season's curtain raiser soccer meet, the Independence Cup Football ' 2023 on Friday (December 15).

The match will begin at 4 pm at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in the capital.

Traditional Dhaka Mohammedan SC will face old Dhaka outfit Rahmatganj MFS in the first semifinal at 1:45 pm on Friday at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj.

The title deciding match will kick-off at 1:45 pm on Monday (December 18) at the Sheikh Fazlul Haque Moni Stadium in Gopalganj.

Earlier in the quarterfinals, Bashundhara Kings beat Bangladesh Army by 2-1 goals, Dhaka Abahani Ltd eliminated Sheikh Jamal DC by 3-2 goals in tie breaker, Mohammedan SC beat Chittagong Abahani Ltd  by 1-0 goal in the extra time while Rahmatganj MFS defeated Police FC by 2-1 goals.

Ahead of the Friday's semifinal, Dhaka Abahani requested the BFF to shift the match to a neutral venue from the Bashundhara Kings home ground, but their appeal was rejected.

 Meanwhile, Dhaka Abahani's Manager Kazi Nazrul Islam will not stand in the dugout of the team as he was suspended for four matches.

He was punished following a red card he received in the quarterfinal against Sheikh Jamal DC for bargaining with the match referee.