Grameenphone Federation Cup 2010
New force v Old guard
Sheikh Jamal face Abahani in opener
The second round of the Grameenphone Federation Cup could not have asked for a better start as Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, the new powerhouse of local football boasting as many as sixteen national players, will take on three-time professional football league champions Abahani in the first match at the Birshreshtha Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur on Monday.
Sheikh Russel will take on Rahmatganj in the second match of the day. All four teams were pitted in group A while defending Federation Cup champions Mohammedan Sporting Club, a rejuvenated Muktijodhdha Sangsad, Brothers Union and Feni Soccer Club complete group B, as the draw for the final round of the season’s curtain-raiser tournament was held at the Bangladesh Football Federation conference room yesterday.
The semifinals will be held on October 25 and 26 respectively, and the final on October 29.
On paper, group A seems to be much harder than the other group. The main competition is expected to be between Abahani and Sheikh Jamal with Sheikh Russel being the outside contenders, while Mukjijoddha and Mohammedan are expected to be the front-runners for the semifinal berths from group B with Feni being the dark horse.
BFF senior vice-president Salam Murshedi hoped now that the big teams will be competing better spectators in the final round compared to the first round. The ticket price for this round have been fixed at Tk 30.
Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, Brothers Union Club, Muktijoddha Sangsad KC and Rahmatganj MFS confirmed their final round places after the qualification round that concluded on Friday while holders Mohammedan, runners-up Abahani, Sheikh Russell and Feni Soccer Club are directly taking part in the final round.
BFF league committee chairman Murshedi, vice-president Kazi Nabil Ahmed and sponsors Grameenphone’s head of market communications Syed Tahmid Azizul Haque were, among others, present at the draw ceremony.
