Booters to play Solidarity Cup?

Bangladesh will be granted a spot in the inaugural AFC Solidarity Cup this year if they fail to beat Bhutan in their Asian Cup Play-Off Qualifier.

Though only time will tell whether Bangladesh will progress to the Asian Cup Qualifying round --their away match against Bhutan is on October 10 -- the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has ensured at least four more international matches for the national team after confirming their entry into the Solidarity Cup, which is being arranged for the nations which fail to qualify for the 24-team Asian Cup Qualifiers.

The tournament will be held in Malaysia from November 2-15 with the participation of nine nations, from which six teams have already been eliminated from the Asian Cup Qualifiers, while the rest are waiting to know their fate after the second-round of the Asian Cup Play-Off Qualifiers on October 10.

A draw of the Solidarity Cup was also held yesterday at the AFC headquarters in Malaysia. Bangladesh has been pitted against Nepal, Pakistan, Brunei Darussalam and Timor-Leste / Chinese Taipei in Group A. Group B features Sri Lanka, Macau, Mongolia and Maldives/Laos.