The All Nepal Football Association, on July 7, announced that they would host the Bangladesh men’s team for two friendlies on September 6 and 9 at Dasharath Stadium. However, with growing speculation in both Bangladeshi and Nepali media about a possible cancellation, ANFA issued a formal statement on Friday reaffirming the matches.

The clarification comes amid reports that Bangladesh were exploring other options, including matches against Vietnam and Cambodia, during the FIFA International Window. There were also claims that Bangladesh were in discussions with Sri Lanka to organise a South Asian-level tournament—without Nepal's participation.

Additionally, unconfirmed reports suggested that Nepal had declined to join a proposed tri-nation series involving Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

However, none of the football associations from Nepal, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka had officially commented on the speculation—until now.

With Friday’s statement, ANFA has sought to put all the rumours to rest.

“All the necessary processes were completed with FIFA and AFC by July 7 for the Nepal-Bangladesh friendlies,” the ANFA statement read. “The friendlies were also assured by ANFA and the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). Despite it, speculative media reports regarding the friendlies have caused emotional harm to players and misrepresented the integrity of sports journalism.”

“ANFA has not held discussions with any other nations except Bangladesh for the friendly matches,” ANFA stated. “The scheduled friendlies between the senior national teams of Nepal and Bangladesh at Dasharath Stadium will be conducted successfully as planned.”