Bashundhara Kings, Saif SC lock horns in final today

Defending champion Bashundhara Kings and first time finalist Saif Sporting Club are engaging in the final match of Walton Federation Cup football today (Sunday) at 4:00 pm at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka.
While the defending champions want to keep the title, newbie finalist Saif boys are dreaming of lifting their first trophy of any local football event.
Before now, Bashundhara played final twice, in the seasons 2018 and 2019-20. It became runner-up in the first try and clinched the trophy in the second time. Saif boys, on the other hand, are playing final of any local football event for the first time in the history.
Earlier, Bashundhara moved to the final of the event for the third consecutive time defeating Dhaka Abahani by 3-1 margin in the second semi-final match on Thursday. Saif stormed into the final booking a 3-0 win over Chittagong Abahani on Wednesday.
During their last encounter with Saif in BPL in 2019, Bashundhara won the match by 2-0. Ahead of the match, club officials of both the teams and only the skipper of Bashundhara Kings attended a press briefing on Saturday.
Bashundhara coach Spaniard Oscar Bruzon said, "We are taking preparation for the final. We practiced in the morning (Saturday). The players had gone through recovery session after the last match. We have put emphasis on the recovery. We want to play well and win the trophy."
In responses to media men's question about the favourite in the final this former defensive midfielder said, "This topic is for you guys (media), for us it's a game. We want to play a beautiful game tomorrow (Sunday) and we want to win the Federation Cup."
Skipper of the team defender Tapu Barman said, "I played for different teams over the years and gathered experience during the time. We were able to win the semi-final match as we were successful in maintaining the team morale till the last minute. We try to play as a team and maintain our spirit and that are our strong sides."
About the opponent, this defenders' view is "The opponents are strong. They have national team booters and good foreign recruits."
Saif SC General Secretary Mahbubur Rahman said, "We are in the final for the first time. We are getting ready for the match and want to do well."
BFF confirmed that the champion team will get Taka 500,000 and runner-up Taka 300,000 as cash prize. Besides, the winners of the Federation Cup trophy will have chance to play the upcoming AFC Cup play-off.