U-16 boys aim to regain SAFF title

Bangladesh, the champions 2015 and 2018 editions, are set to fly today for Thimphu to take part in the SAFF U-16 Championship with the hope of regaining the title.

The boys in red and green, however, will have to first get out of the group, which also features two of the strongest sides of the region -- India and Nepal. The top two sides will advance to the semifinals of the six-team competition, which has so far been held six times, from the age-group of U-15 to U-17.

The first two editions of the competition were among under-16 teams, with winning the second edition in Sylhet in 2015, beating India 4-2 in shootout in the final. The championship then turned an under-15 affair for the next three editions from 2017 to 2019, with Bangladesh beating Pakistan 3-2 in shootout to win the trophy in 2018.

However, Bangladesh could not progress to the knockout stage in the next two editions in 2019 and 2022, with the last one held as a competition among under-17 teams.

"I have played in age-group tournaments and I know how hard these are. That's why the boys have been working hard for a long time and we are confident that they will play better than the past," head coach Saifur Rahman Moni said at an official press briefing at the BFF House yesterday.

"We are confident since we have six to seven players with experience of playing in the Bangladesh championship League. So, we don't see any reason not to be optimistic about winning the title," said the former national forward, who trained his team for only two weeks.