Bangladesh have been awarded with the 2017 SAFF Championship at an executive committee meeting held in Kerela, India on Saturday. In the meeting, Bangladesh were also honoured with the inaugural Club Cup Championship to be held later this year. India were awarded to host SAFF Women’s Championship in August-September this year but the issue of allowing Afghanistan, an AFC member of central Asia, to take part in the next SAFF Championship was not discussed.
This will be the third time that Bangladesh will host the showpiece event of the South Asian football after successfully holding it in 2003 and 2009.
In 2003 Bangladesh tasted their only success in the championship by lifting the title while in 2009 they reached the semi-finals.
Bangladesh faced a very little hurdle to land the event as Maldives were the only other country who bid for the biggest footballing extravaganza in South Asia after Bhutan pulled out from the contest.
‘Bangladesh and Maldives bid to host the 2017 SAFF Championship and the executive committee has awarded Bangladesh to host the next championship through discussion as well as taking the opinion from the sponsor [World Sports Group]’, said SAFF general secretary Anwarul Haq Helel on Saturday.
-With New Age input
