More then 600 footballers participated in the Under-19 national football team trial on Friday, ahead of the forthcoming qualifying round for the 2014 AFC Under-19 Championship.
On the first day of the trial at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dutch youth coach Rene Koster narrowed the field down to 150 outfield players, while his compatriot, goalkeeping coach Kees Kalk, picked 11 goalkeepers from 33 candidates. He will watch another 33 goalkeepers today.
Koster will cut his team down to 40 players for the training camp on Sunday.
The Under-19 Championship qualifying round is scheduled for October 8-12 in Iraq.
The Bangladesh Under-19s will play in Group C, along with Kuwait, Pakistan and the 2012 runners-up, Iraq.
In the 2011 qualifying round for the 2012 tournament, Group A hosts Bangladesh managed just one win against Maldives, falling to Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Oman under former coach Nikola Ilievski.
The 27 players who had been picked in the Under-18 age category for the Sylhet Football Academy last year also participated in the trial, BFF technical director Bayezid Zubair Nipu said on Friday.
‘We are happy to see more then 600 players in the trial, as the District Football Associations responded well after we asked them to send players from their respective districts,’ he said.
-With New Age input
