Fortis, Police embark on Asian adventure today

Fortis FC and Bangladesh Police FC will look to make history when they begin their AFC Challenge League campaigns today, with both aiming to reach the group stage of Asia’s third-tier club competition.

Fortis will face last edition’s semifinalists Muras United FC of Kyrgyzstan at Bashundhara Kings Arena at 3:00pm. Bangladesh Police, on the other hand, will take on 2010 AFC Cup winners Al Ittihad Ahli of Aleppo SC of Syria at King Abdullah II Stadium in Amman, Jordan, at 11:00pm (Bangladesh time), hoping to overcome the seven-time Syrian league champions in the preliminary stage.

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Fortis players during training on August 10, 2026. Photo: Firoz Ahmed

Despite finishing third and fourth respectively in the last Bangladesh Football League season, Fortis and Police were handed AFC opportunities after champions Bashundhara Kings and runners-up Abahani failed to secure club licensing.

Both clubs are now eager to make the most of the unexpected opportunity. “Initially, we were not ready for the competition, but we tried to utilise the time we got to prepare after suddenly getting the opportunity to take part in the AFC Challenge League, despite the fact that seven of our players left the club this season,” Fortis coach Masud Parvez Kaiser said at a pre-match press conference at Kings Arena yesterday.

Kaiser is confident of a strong performance at home, especially after reshaping the squad with eight foreign players and two on-loan players from Abahani.

“You know there is a huge difference between domestic and AFC matches, but we are ready for the 90-minute match and will try our level best to enter the next stage of the tournament,” Kaiser said, adding that despite not having any national players in the squad, Fortis have regularly upset local powerhouses.

The former footballer-turned-coach, however, acknowledged the strength of the Kyrgyz side who reached the AFC Challenge League semifinals in their debut campaign, defeating Abahani 2-0 in Dhaka on their way to the group stage.

“We know all about Muras -- how they play, how they attack, how they defend and what they do in transition,” Kaiser said. “They have an advantage of staying in the competition as they played their domestic match four days ago, but we have been out of competitive matches for the last two months.”

Muras head coach Edmar De Laserda described Fortis as “a good team” and said his side are ready for the challenge in an “important match”. He added that Bangladesh’s hot and humid weather would not affect their performance.