Just a month from now, the qualifiers for the AFC U-20 Asian Cup will take place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

To add an extra boost and depth to the tournament squad, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has decided to include five expatriate Bangladeshi footballers.

Nasser Shahriar Zaheedi, chairman of the BFF Development Committee, confirmed this information to journalists on Monday (July 3) following a committee meeting.

He stated that these young players from England, Australia, and the United States have already arrived in the country and joined the squad. The U-20 team's residential camp is currently underway at the Shamsul Huda Football Academy in Jashore.

There, the expatriates have integrated remarkably well with the local footballers. Regarding this, Nasser Shahriar Zaheedi said, "A new dimension has been added to our camp this time.

Five Bangladeshis living abroad have joined our camp. Coming from England, Australia, and the USA, they are camping together in an extremely cordial and friendly environment."

To fine-tune their performance before heading into the main qualifying battles, the youngsters have already played two warm-up matches against the Bangladesh Army team.

The BFF expressed satisfaction with the players' performances in those fixtures while also praising the cooperative attitude of the Army team.

Although the camp initially began with 43 footballers, a final 23-member squad will be announced for the Tashkent mission.

Accompanied by a foreign head coach, fitness coach, and goalkeeping coach, alongside local support staff, preparations are currently moving forward in full swing.

The BFF official expressed strong optimism about crossing the barrier of this year's AFC qualifiers.