‘We shed tears of joy’

"After a lot of hard work, we enjoyed last night to the fullest. We shed tears of joy and we danced on the bus all the way to the hotel," Maria Manda told The Daily Star over phone from the breakfast table in Kathmandu yesterday, the morning after the women's team made history by clinching a maiden SAFF Women's Championship title.

"We took a lot of photos with the trophies and medals, we kissed the medals time and again, we enjoyed every moment. It was an unforgettable night for all of us," added the 19-year-old, who played a pivotal role in midfield.

Although the players follow a strict diet, yesterday they were afforded the luxury of chocolate.

"We ate a lot of chocolate after the team meeting with the madam [Mahfuza Aktar Kiran]. She willingly distributed it and we really enjoyed," the Mymensingh native added.

The women in red and green usually go to bed after an early dinner considering their early training time, but there was no timeframe for dinner or even yesterday's breakfast. The girls had an almost sleepless night celebrating their greatest triumph.

Touching on the team's mentality in Kathmandu, Maria said: "We always believe in ourselves. We believe that we can do something whenever we take the field. We knew if we gave 100 per cent on the field, we would eventually get something in return. We finally succeeded."

Maria also urged the country's premier football clubs to join the Women's Football League.

"There is a Women's Football League but good clubs [big clubs] do not take part. If they participate, the league will be more competitive and players beyond the existing pool will get opportunities to perform and get into the national team and make the team stronger."

Maria also believed that providing the team with a grass field instead of the astro-turf at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur would help them improve further.

"We usually practice on the astro-turf in Kamalapur and hardly get opportunities to practice on grass. But we practiced on a grass ground at home before this championship. I think we need a grass ground. If we are given adequate practice facilities, I believe we can improve further for the next level," said Manda, who captained many of these girls to glory in different age-group competitions.

The government and Bangladesh Football Federation were preparing a homecoming for the champions featuring an open top bus that the players would ride from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport to the BFF House in Motijheel.