Former Argentine international Hernan Barcos and Brazilian pair Robinho and Fernandez, three foreign recruits of Bashundhara Kings for the AFC Cup 2020, arrived in Dhaka on the same day Asian football’s governing body, the AFC, cancelled the competition.
The attacking trio landed in the capital in the morning.
The news of the AFC Cup cancellation arrived later in the day after a virtual AFC executive meeting.
“In view of the logistics in coordinating the five zones of the AFC Cup and completing the inter zone matches, the AFC executive committee also agreed that the pandemic created complexities which constituted a Force Majeure event and, with sadness, led to the cancellation of the 2020 competition,” said the AFC statement.
The Bangladesh premier league champion made their AFC Cup debut this season, but played only one game where they thrashed TC Sports of Maldives 5-1 on March 12, riding on four goals from debutant Barcos, former teammate of Lionel Messi.
The competition got postponed soon after that due to the global Covid-19 outbreak.
Rescheduled fixtures were announced for October-November.
The club completed two new foreign signings and began practice under Spanish coach Oscar Bruzon at the end of last month.
Kings president Imrul Hasan was not a happy man after hearing the news.
He said the club will write to AFC to inform their financial loss caused by the decision.
