Club Eagles land, Kings to fly out

Club Eagles of Maldives reached Sylhet yesterday, three days before their official arrival, to play the in a preliminary fixture of the AFC Cup against Abahani later this week.

It will be the second AFC Cup appearance for Maldivian outfit, who got a walkover against Abahani in 2021 centring a dilemma over the venue, following their victory over Thimphu City of Bhutan in the Preliminary Round-1 match.

Abahani, who failed to cross the preliminary or play-off hurdles in the last three editions, either fell to Indian or Maldivian clubs since qualifying for the zonal semifinals in 2019.

Club Eagles, who have five foreign players in their roster, are expected to start their training today at Sylhet BKSP ground while Abahani will have their first training in Sylhet on August 14. The match will be played at Sylhet District Stadium on August 16.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Premier League champions Bashundhara Kings are all set to leave the country for United Arab Emirates this morning to take part in their maiden AFC Champions League appearance.

An approximately 50-member contingent with six foreign players – Robson Da Silva, Dorielton Gomes, Miguel Figueira, Asror Gafurov, Shokhrukhbek Kholmatov, Boburbek Yuldashov and Charles Didier – along with new local signings including Mohammad Ibrahim, Mojibur Rahman Jonny and Aminur Rahman Sajib – will play their match against Sharjah FC on August 15 at the Sharjah Stadium.

If the four-time Bangladesh Premier League winners can beat Sharjah FC, they will take on Iranian outfit Tractor FC in the play-off stage on August 22 in bid to get into the group stage of the competition.