Since Bangladesh's maiden triumph in SAFF Women's Championship two years ago, there have been strong recommendations for taking necessary initiatives to take the country's women's football beyond the South Asian region, a demand that has only been strengthened following the successful title defence in Nepal a few days ago.
Following a seemingly never-ending slump, Bangladesh eventually turned the tide in the middle of last year during the SAFF Championship before retaining momentum for the rest of 2023.
In the world of sports, Bangladeshi women’s and men’s teams for cricket and football have had an eventful year.
George Kottan, the SAFF Championship winning coach of Bangladesh football team, passed away in Budapest on Monday. He was 76.
Having undergone a recovery session on Wednesday, Bangladesh national team returned to a full-fledged training session at the practice ground of the Bashundhara Sports Complex ahead of two FIFA friendlies against Afghanistan.
The 33-year-old captain, who has worked under different foreign and local coaches and seen the ups and downs of the team, spoke elaborately regarding the difference from the previous campaigns to the recent one and what he feels should be the ideology for the team going forward. Excerpts of the interview, taken by The Daily Star’s Anisur Rahman, are as follows.
India re-evaluated themselves against skilled Asian teams, having repelled Lebanon in similar fashion in the semi-finals, but what will the rest of the South Asian participating nations take away from the tournament? From here on, how do they gauge their standards relative to India’s ever-accelerating progress?
Following an outstanding campaign in the SAFF Championship, Bangladesh’s Anisur Rahman Zico was named the goalkeeper of the tournament.
The Spaniard, who led Bangladesh to a first semifinal in the regional event for the first time in 14 years only to lose the last-four battle against Kuwait in extra time, said he was disappointed of the end result but proud of the performance from the charges.
Bangladesh began their second-phase preparation for SAFF Championship with a 1-0 win over Cambodian Premier League outfit Tiffy Army FC in a warm-up match in Phnom Penh yesterday.
Spanish coach Javier Cabrera yesterday vowed to take Bangladesh to the semifinals of the upcoming SAFF Championship after surprisingly dropping striker Eleta Kingsley and in-form forward Sazzad Hossain as he announced his final 23-member squad for the regional football extravaganza, set to begin from June 21 in Bengaluru.
Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera on Friday left out Eleta Kingsley and in-form forward Sazzad Hossain from the 23-member squad for this month’s SAFF Championship.
Salahuddin said he saw in past that the players don’t go to the field with a winning mentality, which is what he wants to be changed.
“Our first target is to qualify for the semifinals,” Jamal told reporters on Sunday during the reporting of the players of the preliminary squad, which will start training tomorrow at Bashundhara Kings Arena.
Why do girls play football? Is there anything for them?
Bangladesh Football Federation has appointed David Dobarro Magan as national team’s physiotherapist for next month’s FIFA friendly against Cambodia and the subsequent SAFF Championship in India.
Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera took a positive view of the draw for the upcoming SAFF Championship and said he wants to grab the opportunity to advance to the semifinals of the regional football event, which is scheduled for June 21 to July 4 in Bengaluru, India.
Bangladesh have comparatively been drawn in an easier group in the upcoming SAFF Championship, scheduled for June 21 to July 4 in Bengaluru, India.
Javier Cabrera, the head coach of the national team, said the players were rewarded for their performance in the ongoing season.