JU Hosts first-ever women's football match

In honour of the lives lost in the student-led mass upsurge in July and the fall of the autocratic regime, the Department of Anthropology at Jahangirnagar University (JU) hosted the Mishu Memorial Football Tournament Season 8 on Sunday.

A major highlight of this year's event was including a women's friendly football match, breaking traditional norms of an all-male tournament. 

On the tournament's opening day, two teams competed in the historic women's match. Fast and Fabulous, featuring female students from the 49th and 51st batches took on the Queen Kingdom comprising students from the 50th and 52nd batches at the university's central field. 

Each team fielded eight players and the match kicked off at 4:30 pm. The 30-minute game, divided into two halves of 15, saw the Queen Kingdom win 1-0, courtesy of first-year student Samania Jannati's goal.

This match aimed to promote women's participation in sports and ensure their safety. 

"The primary goal of the event is to encourage the spontaneous participation of women in football across all university campuses. We hope to see more women's football events in the future," said the organisers.

Annesha Chakraborty, a first-year Anthropology student, expressed her excitement: "This is the first time we've had a women's football match at Jahangirnagar University, and it's from our department! We're thrilled that our team won, especially with a goal from one of our friends. We hope to organize more tournaments with other departments soon."

Sports teacher and Associate Professor of the department Rezwana Karim Snigdha said, "This is the first-ever women's football match at Jahangirnagar University. We have many promising female players. If we create an environment that encourages women to play football, they will excel. By organising more football events for both Bengali and indigenous female students, we can help bridge divisions and foster unity."