- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
The Socceroos have announced they will travel to Bangladesh this week for their World Cup qualifier, set to be played in Dhaka on November 17.
The decision was made through ongoing discussion between the Football Federation Australia and a number of Australian and Bangladesh Government entities.
There has been concern over terrorist attacks in Bangladesh in recent months and in October Cricket Australia announced they were postponing a two-match Test series in Bangladesh because of those concerns.
However, a number of security measures have been put in place to keep the Socceroos safe, and the FFA say they are confident in the team’s safety.
“We would like to thank the Australian Government, DFAT, FIFA, AFC, the Bangladesh Football Federation and numerous Bangladesh government and securities bodies for working with our security experts to put in place a plan to allow this match to go ahead as planned,” said FFA CEO David Gallop.
“Right from the outset our number one priority has been the safety of our staff and players. Over the last month we have undertaken an extensive intelligence and risk management operation, driven by our world class security advisors and the relevant Government and security agencies, and we are happy with the plans put in place.”
The Socceroos will leave Sydney on Saturday for Singapore, where they will spend some time preparing for the match before arriving in Dhaka on Monday.
“Leading into the game against Kyrgyzstan we decided that if we travelled to Bangladesh it would be best to break up the trip so the players can properly recover from the first match and the travel they have already had to undertake to arrive in Australia,” said Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou.
“We have previously prepared in Dubai for matches and flown in late and we feel under the current situation this is the best preparation for what we believe will be a tough match against Bangladesh.
“I would like to applaud the work of our staff, who went about this planning while allowing the coaches and players to concentrate on the first match against Kyrgyzstan. This is another example of delivering a world class environment off the field.”
The FFA has urged fans considering travelling to the game to heed the warnings on the Australian Government’s smarttraveller website.
The advice on the website currently reads:
“Australians attending the Bangladesh-Australia FIFA World Cup qualifier on 17 November in Dhaka should be aware of the high threat of terrorist attack in Bangladesh and take active measures to mitigate risks.
“This includes avoiding travel at night, limiting movements in public places, including bars, hotels and events and locations frequented by foreigners, and travelling only by vehicle (see Safety and Security).
“The level of advice has not changed. You should exercise a high degree of caution in Bangladesh.”
The match will take place at 5:30pm local time on Tuesday, November 17, which will be 10:30pm AEDT in Australia.
It will be broadcast live on Fox Sports, and on a one hour delay on SBS.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.