Ronan Sullivan will be a new face in Bangladesh’s attack at the SAFF Championship.
The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has confirmed that the young US-based forward will play for the national team.
Sullivan, who played a key part in Bangladesh’s under-20 SAFF title win in April, now gets the chance to play directly for the senior national team.
Speaking to journalists at the BFF building on Thursday, vice-president Fahad Karim said Sullivan had confirmed he would play. “Alhamdulillah, he confirmed to me today that, inshallah, he can come,” he said. “The deadline for player registration is 18 October. We will keep him in the squad.”
Bangladesh won the under-20 SAFF title unbeaten in Male, the capital of the Maldives, in April, and Sullivan contributed to that success. He scored both goals, from a free kick and a header, in the 2-0 win over Pakistan, and scored in the penalty shoot-out in the final against India to help the team win the title.
Bangladesh have long lacked a reliable striker. How much Sullivan strengthens the national team’s attack remains to be seen.
After success with the age-group side, he now has the chance to prove himself at senior level.
The 15th SAFF Championship will be held at the National Stadium in Dhaka from 4 to 17 November.
With Nepal unable to take part, six teams will compete this time. Bangladesh face Sri Lanka and Bhutan in Group A. Defending champions India, the Maldives and Pakistan play in Group B. After the group stage, the two semi-finals will be played on 14 November and the final on 17 November.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report