Unprepared Sylhet held by Cumilla

An unprepared Sylhet team were held by Cumilla in their first match of the Bangabandhu National Football Championship at the Asmat Ali Khan Stadium in Madaripur on Monday.

Kamran scored in the 60th minute of the match to put Sylhet ahead 1-0, but eight minutes later, Shamim equalised for Cumilla, and the match ended 1-1.

The manager of the Sylhet district football team, Rubel Ahmed Nannu, told The Business Post that the players could not prepare themselves due to the flood.

“It has been raining for the past few days, and the field was submerged. Therefore, we could not train properly,” he said from Madaripur.

Nannu also said the matches could not be rescheduled as all the participating teams had already arrived at the host city.

“Teams from Bangladesh Navy and Bangladesh Army or all other teams arrived in Madaripur much before us. Therefore, the tournament authority said that they could not rearrange the schedule,” he said.

Nannu added that the players are passing through tense times as the houses of some footballers are heavily affected by the flood.

The Sylhet District Stadium, where football matches take place mostly is already being used as a shelter for flood victims.

Sylhet will play against the Army football team on Wednesday.