Australian football team book flight to Dhaka

Published October 28, 2015
Reports in Australia said the Socceroos were awaiting guidance from FIFA about whether they would be expected to fulfil the game in Dhaka. — Reuters/File
Reports in Australia said the Socceroos were awaiting guidance from FIFA about whether they would be expected to fulfil the game in Dhaka. — Reuters/File

DHAKA: The Australian Football Team have booked their flights for a World Cup tie in Dhaka which was thrown into doubt by the cancellation of an Australian cricket tour over security fears, Bangladesh's football federation said Wednesday.

The Australian federation had flagged up their concerns over the November 17 tie in the Bangladeshi capital to football's world governing body FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation.

But the Bangladesh Football Federation said its Australian counterpart had now forwarded the team's flight details in an email, including a list of players and other officials planning to travel with them.

“They sent us a list of 75 players, officials, journalists and other delegates. We've also received the list of match officials from FIFA,” Abu Nayeem Shohag, the BFF's general secretary, told AFP.

His comments came shortly after the Socceroos named their squad for both the match against Bangladesh and a home qualifier against Kyrgyzstan to be played in Canberra on November 12.

Shohag said Bangladesh would ensure the safety of the Socceroos and had received security advice from FIFA.

Reports in Australia said the Socceroos were awaiting guidance from FIFA about whether they would be expected to fulfil the game in Dhaka.

Australia's cricketers had been due to play a two-Test series in Bangladesh this month but the tour was scrapped in the wake of the killing of two foreigners, attacks claimed by the Islamic State group.

Announcing the cancellation, Cricket Australia's chief executive James Sutherland said an independent security assessment had concluded there was a “risk of terrorism in Bangladesh targeting Australian nationals”.

Bangladesh's government has however rejected the idea that Islamic State is operating in the mainly Muslim but officially secular nation.

The match is crucial for Australia who are second in their group — four points behind leaders Jordan but with a game in hand — and therefore can ill afford to forfeit three points by failing to fulfil a fixture. Australia thrashed Bangladesh 5-0 in September's home qualifier in Perth.

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