Football fans in Sylhet demonstrated their passion for the game once again when they gathered at the Sylhet District Stadium en masse to support Bangladesh in SAFF Under-16 final against India on Tuesday. All 20,000 tickets were sold for the game and the local football association had to issue 3,000 extra tickets to meet the huge demand. Sylhet was chosen as the venue for the tournament after it provided a full house in the previous international matches that it hosted.
Sylhet’s football fans showed their passion for the first time when the Stadium hosted an international football match between Bangladesh Under-23 and Nepal Under-23 team last year.
The Bangladesh Football Federation chose the venue for two group matches and a semi-final of the
Bangabandhu Gold Cup International tournament earlier this year after watching the interest of football fans.
It is the same reason that spurred BFF to award the city SAFF Under-16. Despite it being an age-level tournament, the venue was full almost every day, which acted as catalyst for the home side.
When the BFF struggled to woo the fans even during the high-profile international matches in the capital, Sylhet came as a welcome relief for football administrators.
It also encouraged more than 100 officials and former players, including BFF president Kazi Salahuddin, to travel to Sylhet to watch the game.
-With New Age input
