Bangamata U-19 Gold Cup kicks off tomorrow

Hosts Bangladesh will take on United Arab Emirates when the first Bangamata U-19 Women’s International Gold Cup kicks off tomorrow at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka.

The first match of the six-nation invitational tournament, organised by the Bangladesh Football Federation in memory of Bangamata Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib, will kick off at 6:00pm.

Bangladesh have been pitted in Group B, which also features Kyrgyzstan while Group A features Mongolia, Tajikistan and Laos.

The top two teams from each group will play in the semifinals, scheduled for April 29 and 30, before the final on May 3 at the same venue.

The Bangladesh team will look to make a positive start against the highest-ranked team of the tournament and thereby secure a semifinal berth, although the aim for the hosts is to keep the title at home.

Bangladesh, who won a number of regional tournaments at the age-group level including the SAFF Under-15 Women’s Championship and SAFF U-18 Women’s Championship as well as having qualified for the final round of the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship twice over the last three years, would look to add another trophy to their cabinet.

Three of the participating teams already arrived in Dhaka on Friday while the two other teams were scheduled to arrive last night.