Eleta Kingsley was not included in Bangladesh’s 23-man squad for the upcoming SAFF Championship in Maldives as Bangladesh Football Federation did not receive clearance from FIFA to field the Basundhara Kings striker.
Bangladesh, who leave for Maldives on Tuesday, announced their 23-man squad for the tournament on Monday.
Eleta, who received his Bangladeshi passport earlier this year, was called up to the 27-man preliminary squad and trained with the team for the last two days.
The striker had said that he was looking forward to playing in the tournament wearing the red and green but that seems to have to wait as his clearance from FIFA is still due.
Other from Eleta’s omission, there were no surprises as all the regular players were picked for the tournament.
Jamal Bhuyan will be leading the side and the only new face in the team will be head coach Oscar Bruzon, who has just been appointed for the SAFF Championship.
Bangladesh have failed to win the SAFF Championship since their triumph in 2003 and have failed to even reach the final since 2005.
Bangladesh squad for SAFF Championship
Goalkeepers: Anisur Rahman, Sahidul Alam, Ashraful Islam Rana
Defenders: Rahmat Mia, Bishwanath Ghosh, Topu Barman, Riyadul Islam, Yeasin Arafat, Razaul Karim, Tariq Kazi, Tutul Hossain Badsha, Md Ridoy
Midfielders: Jamal Bhuyan, Sohel Rana, Saad Uddin, Rakib Hossain, Atiqur Rahman Fahad
Forwards: Biplo Ahmed, Suman Reza, Mahbubur Rahman, Mohammad Ibrahim, Matin Miah, Jewel Rana
