Socceroos to travel to Bangladesh for World Cup qualifier

The Socceroos will travel to Bangladesh for its scheduled 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Bangladesh in Dhaka on 17 November 2015.

The decision to travel to Bangladesh has been reached following on-going discussions between Football Federation Australia (FFA), the Australian Government, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Bangladesh Government, Bangladesh Football Federation, FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

These discussions commenced following initial contact with DFAT regarding the security situation in Bangladesh.

Since Saturday, an FFA security delegation has been undertaking extensive meetings with DFAT, FIFA, AFC, the Bangladesh Government and Bangladesh security services in Dhaka to ascertain the security plans in place and the operations to implement the plan.

“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 depart Sydney tomorrow (Saturday) and spend time preparing in Singapore before flying into 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.”

FFA has also urged fans to carefully consider the travel advice offered by the DFAT on the “Smartraveller” website before deciding whether or not to travel to Bangladesh and attend the match.

DFAT today issued a specific update to Bangladesh travel advice covering the Australia v Bangladesh match, which can be found on the “Smartraveller” website  http://smartraveller.gov.au/countries/bangladesh

“While we are satisfied all parties have been able to put together a security operation to mitigate risk for the team heading to Bangladesh it is beyond the ability of FFA to implement and monitor safety plans for those outside the team,” Gallop said. “We suggest fans carefully consider the travel advice on the Smartraveller website.”

Socceroo Match Details

Bangladesh v Australia

​​​​​17 November, 2015 

Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka

5.30pm kick off (10.30pm AEDT)

The Socceroos v Bangladesh match will be broadcast exclusively LIVE on FOX SPORTS and on a one hour delay on SBS.