The tourist city of Cox's Bazar is all set to host its second-ever international football tournament as the two semifinals of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup will be held today and tomorrow at the Birshreshtha Ruhul Amin Stadium.

Philippines will take on Tajikistan in the first semifinal today while Bangladesh will square off against Palestine in the second semifinal tomorrow, with both matches set to kick off at 2:30pm.

The fifth edition of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup will be the first time that this stadium will host international matches since the Women's SAFF Championship was held here back in 2010.

According to the organisers, all preparations to host the matches have been finished and the locals are excited about the prospect of watching their own players as well as the international footballers in action.

Birshreshtha Ruhul Amin Stadium. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

The ground has been worked upon for the last two weeks. The gallery, dressing rooms, press box, VIP lounge have been refurbished for these two matches. Two other grounds will be used as practice facilities for these teams.

There have been archways, billboards and banners installed across the city. 10,000 tickets worth Tk 100 and Tk 2000 are being sold through banks. There will be attractive prizes for the winners of a lottery which will be done on the tickets each matchday, informed organisers.