Six nations competed in the tournament.[2] BFF president Kazi Salahuddin has previously stated that the BFF wanted to get one team from each of the Asian Football Confederation's sub-confederations.[3] Afghanistan was also reported as a potential participant.[4] All teams were the first teams except for the Philippines which brought their second team.[5]
The draw took place on 1 September 2018 at the Le Méridien Dhaka Hotel in Dhaka. The six teams were drawn into two groups with three teams each for the group stage.[2][6]