The World Cup year 2026 will begin with global excitement as football’s biggest tournament kicks off on June 11. Ahead of the mega event, FIFA has scheduled an international window from June 1 to 9, mainly to help qualified teams finalize their preparations. At the same time, nations not featuring at the World Cup will also use this window to play matches and improve their FIFA rankings.
During this period, the Maldives is planning a special four-nation tournament to celebrate 75 years of Maldivian football. FIFA President Gianni Infantino recently visited the island nation, where the tournament logo was officially unveiled.
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 75 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒂𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍,” 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒅𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒐 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉.
Maldives Invites Bangladesh, SAFF Nations in Focus
The Maldives have decided to mark their anniversary alongside teams from the SAFF region. Sri Lanka has already confirmed participation, while the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) received a formal invitation today. A final decision will be taken soon by the national team committee or BFF President Tabith Awal.
Bangladesh previously took part in a similar anniversary event in 2000, when the Maldives celebrated the 50th anniversary of their football association. That history adds extra significance to the latest invitation.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔,” 𝒂 𝑩𝑭𝑭 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅.
Preparation Plans Ahead of the FIFA World Cup Window
Before the June window, Bangladesh will play their final Asian Cup qualifier away against Singapore on March 31. The federation is also trying to arrange friendly matches in Malaysia and Thailand ahead of that fixture. If overseas matches are not possible, BFF is considering hosting a home international.
The June FIFA window could be crucial for Bangladesh, as it will enable key overseas-based players, such as Hamza and Samit, to join the squad. Since clubs are required to release players during FIFA windows, the national team will have a stronger lineup available.
With the World Cup year officially underway, Bangladesh’s potential participation in the Maldives tournament could play a vital role in building momentum and international exposure ahead of future challenges.
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