The maiden professional league (B League) champions Dhaka Abahani Limited will play Jatrabari KC in the opening final round match of the Citycell Federation Cup Football Tournament Wednesday at 5:00 pm at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in the city, reports UNB.
Two arch rivals of Chittagong football -- Chittagong Mohammedan SC and Chittagong Abahani Limited -- will meet in the other opening day fixture at 7 pm at the same venue.
Two matches will be held every day from group stage (Aug 6-20) to quarterfinals (Aug 22 and 23) at 5pm and 7pm.
Bangladesh Football Federation president and legendary footballer Kazi Mohammad Salahuddin will inaugurate the 16-team meet, the curtain raiser of seasons soccer, at a simple ceremony.
Chief Executive Officer of meet sponsor Citycell Michael Seymour will be present as the special guest.
The fixture committee of the Citycell Federation Cup Football Tournament Monday announced the complete fixture of the meet after finalizing the groupings through a ceremonial draw Sunday amid huge enthusiasm among football lovers.
Famed TV star Sadia Islam Mou and her celebrated actor husband Zahid Hasan and star footballers of yesteryears picked up names of the 16 participating teams at the ceremonial draw.
Four top teams of the maiden Professional League (B League) -holders Dhaka Abahani Limited, runners-up Dhaka Mohammedan SC, Muktijoddha Sangsad KC and Sheikh Russell KC - have been considered as the top seeded teams to lead four groups.
Group A - Muktijoddha Sangsad KC, Farashganj SC, Khulna Abahani KC and Dhaka Wanderers Club;
Group B - Dhaka Abahani Limited, Chittagong Mohammedan SC, Chittagong Abahani Limited and Jtrabari KC;
Group C - Sheikh Russell KC, Brothers Union Club, Victoria SC and BKSP;
Group D - Dhaka Mohammedan SC, Arambagh KS, Rahmatganj MFS and Sunrise SC.
On completion of the group matches on August 20, champions and runners-up of the four groups will play in the quarterfinals on August 22 and 23.
The two semifinals will be held on Aug 25 and 26 while the final match is billed for Aug 28, all at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka.
First week's fixture:
Aug 6 : Dhaka Abahani vs Jatrabari KC (5:00 pm): Ctg Mohammedan vs Ctg Abahani (7:00 pm): Aug 7 : Dhaka Mohammedan vs Sunrise SC (5:00 pm): Arambagh KS vs Rahmatganj MFS (7:00 pm)
Aug 8 : Muktijoddha SKC vs Wanderers Club (5:00 pm): Farashganj SC vs Khulna Abahani (7:00 pm): Aug 9 : Sk Russell KC vs BKSP (5:00 pm): Brothers Union vs Victoria SC (7:00 pm): Aug 10 :Ctg Mohammedan vs Jatrabari KC (5:00 pm): Dhaka Abahani vs Ctg Abahani (7:00 pm): Aug 11 : Arambagh KS vs Sunrise SC (5:00 pm): Dhaka Mohammedan vs Rahmatganj MFS (7:00 pm): Aug 12 : Farashganj SC vs Wanderers Club (5:00 pm); Muktijoddha SKC vs Khulna Abahani (7:00 pm)Michael Vaughan struggles to hold his emotions as he resigns as England captain in Loughborough Sunday.
