Bangladesh club Bashundhara Kings, who will play Mohun Bagan Super Giant in an AFC Cup group match in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday, got their visas on Sunday night and are expected to arrive on Monday.
Earlier, the match was thrown into uncertainty after the Bangladesh club failed to get the visa clearance. Tournament guidelines mandate that an away team must reach two days in advance.
Bashundhara wanted a double-entry visa because they have to play two matches in India but was given an invitation for single entry. Bashundhara’s second match is against Odisha FC on December 11.
The visitors later got an invitation for a double-entry visa on September 20. However, the appointment date was scheduled for November 1, according to club president Mohammad Imrul Hassan.
“We have already booked our tickets and the flight is on 22 October 2023 at 10.15am which was informed to all parties in due time,” Hassan said in a letter to the Asian Football Confederation’s disciplinary and ethics committee.
“Our accommodation is also booked. All these bookings were made with advance payment and now it is not possible to change them so as to have a new set of tickets of such high volume is unlikely at the late stage.”
The match is slated for a 9.30pm kick-off, the second match of the day after Odisha’s fixture against Maziya of Maldives.
