‘Time for girls to go beyond South Asia’

After conquering South Asia twice, Sabina Khatun, captain of the Bangladesh women's football team, wants to achieve greater glory at the Asian level.

On Thursday, Bangladesh successfully defended their SAFF Women's Championship title by defeating hosts Nepal 2-1 in an entertaining final at the Dasarath Rangasala Stadium in Kathmandu.

The champion team received a grand reception upon their return to Dhaka on Friday, which included a trip around the city on an open-top bus. They were also greeted by Youth and Sports adviser Asif Mahmud at the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) headquarters.

The triumphant girls received a cheque of Tk one crore from the Ministry of Youth and Sports while the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) also announced a reward of Tk 20 lakh.

The felicitation of the champions is still far from over as they are scheduled to meet with Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus at his Jamuna residence at 11:00 AM today.

But even amidst this outpouring of appreciation from all corners, Sabina, who has led the side in both championship-winning campaigns, had an eye on the future.

Sabina strongly feels that the time has come for Bangladeshi players to get a taste of the European club scene and wants the federation's help to make it happen.

"We cannot afford to lag behind anymore," Sabina told the media at the BFF headquarters yesterday. "It's time for the girls to go beyond South Asia. I have a good rapport with the Pakistan captain. She told me that many of us have the capability to play for European clubs. I would like to draw the federation's attention to this matter."

The entire country had similarly rejoiced after they had won their maiden SAFF title back in 2022 also in Nepal, but the enthusiasm fizzled out soon after.

The erstwhile BFF president Kazi Salahuddin had made many lofty promises to the players, most of which he could not keep as the federation seemingly lacked the desire to help take this talented group of players to the next level.

Salahuddin's 16-year tenure as BFF president has ended now and Tabith Awal was recently elected as his successor.

Sabina hopes that Tabith, who is currently in South Korea for an AFC event, will be able to meet the many requirements of the players and help them take the next step.

"There are definitely things that we want [from the new BFF president]. We want our salaries to be increased, to get our salaries in a timely manner. We want the women's league to take place regularly and want the season to last longer. We want regular matches. Also, we want to play more international matches.

"I have seen many of his [Tabith's] interviews in which he spoke about the development of women's football. He spoke about working separately on women's football. I hope that he can fulfil our financial and other related demands," she added.

According to Sabina, their dream of 'elevating' to the Asian level will only turn into reality with proper assistance and guidance from the country's football authorities.