Bangladesh have set their sights on the title of the SAFF U-19 Championship with the inclusion of two expatriate forwards in the 23-member squad, which will fly for India on Tuesday morning for the six-nation tournament, scheduled for May 9-18 in Arunachal Pradesh.

Bangladesh, who had emerged champions in last year's SAFF U-20 Championship, never got out of the group stage in SAFF U-19 Championship held in 2015 and 2023. However, this time the charges of Golam Rabbani Choton are determined to produce good results on the back of three weeks' preparation at the Shams Ul Huda Football Academy in Jashore and BKSP in Savar.

"We started the training with 31 players including three expatriates. Abdul Kadir from Italy and Farzad Syed Aftab from USA have been included in the final squad while Elman Matin from England could not secure a place due to his performance," Choton said at an official press conference at the BFF House, adding that Farzad's finishing is good while Kadir can hold the ball and also score despite being a left-winger.

"No doubt, the strength of the attacking line-up will be better this time but the local players are also good and they can deliver good performances," said Choton, who was handed a men's team's responsibility after 10 years.

Captain Nazmul Huda Faisal said: "They are not expatriate footballers, they are now Bangladeshi footballers and part of the team. The inclusion of Farzad and Kadir will strengthen us the way Hamza Choudhury's inclusion did for the senior team."

Bangladesh will start their campaign against Maldives on May 9 before playing against Bhutan on May 11. Top two teams from each of the two groups will advance to the semifinals of the six-nation tournament.