Dooley prefers home friendlies over away fixtures ahead of SAFF

Bangladesh head coach Thomas Dooley would prefer his team to play friendly matches at home rather than travel abroad during the September-October FIFA window as they prepare for the SAFF Championship in Dhaka in November.

Bangladesh have several options for the September FIFA window, which runs from September 21 to October 6. The latest and most enticing is an invitation to take part in the FIFA ASEAN Cup in Indonesia, likely from September 24 to October 4. Other options include hosting a tri-nation tournament in Dhaka or playing away friendlies against Kyrgyzstan, whose federation has already extended an invitation. However, none of these fixtures have been confirmed yet.

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Speaking to reporters at the BFF House on Saturday, Dooley said home matches would offer better preparation for what he considers Bangladesh's most important tournament, particularly by allowing the team to build confidence through positive results.

“I think it would be good preparation,” the German-American coach said of the Indonesia invitation. “The better preparation would be playing home games with our fans supporting us. Even if we play in the ASEAN Cup, there will be Bangladesh fans everywhere, which is fantastic. However, those games would be much more difficult to win than games we might host at home. When you play at home and win, you develop the confidence you need for tough games.”

Dooley, who took charge in late May, reiterated the importance he places on the SAFF Championship, which Bangladesh have not won for 23 years.

“Everyone knows the SAFF Championship is a tough tournament, and we haven't won it in 23 years, so everything has to be right. I would love to have games that we can win to build that confidence,” he said.

However, uncertainty over the proposed tournaments and the start of the domestic league has left Bangladesh's preparations in limbo. Most national team players have been idle for more than two and a half months since last season ended, while repeated delays to the transfer deadline, amid FIFA registration bans on Abahani and Bashundhara Kings, have further complicated the league schedule.

“The uncertainty about when the league starts isn't very helpful for us, especially since the FIFA dates are only four weeks away. If the players haven't trained in the last four or five weeks -- and still haven't started -- it makes things very difficult.”

The 65-year-old coach fears the lack of preparation time could severely limit his options during the FIFA window.

“We're in an unfavourable situation. We just have to wait to see what happens with the league: when it starts, and when the players will be released to us. Will we only get them on the FIFA date, which is the 21st? If so, we'll only have three or four training sessions before the games. Everything is falling short of what we had originally hoped for,” he said.