Bangladesh women’s football was anticipated to advance in a positive direction in 2023, following their victory at the SAFF Women’s Championship in September of the previous year. Sadly, it was not intended to be that way.
However, the year commenced in splendid fashion as the national women’s football team garnered financial incentives and unprecedented acclaim from all quarters.
The Bashundhara Group took the lead in the initiative, entering into a three-year agreement valued at three crore taka in January to provide additional support for the growth of the nation’s underappreciated sports industry. Additionally, the longstanding relationship between Dhaka Bank and the women in red and green was restored.
In addition to the support from sponsors, women’s footballers attracted attention through their performances on the field. In February, they secured the SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship with a decisive 3-0 victory over Nepal. In March, they finished in second place, trailing the formidable Russia, at the SAFF U-17 Women’s Championship.
After two age-group competitions that were resounding successes in Dhaka, everything seemed to be proceeding as planned until the initial quarter of the year. Late in March, the momentum sagged slightly as national players avoided training to voice their opinions on, among other things, the organization of international friendlies, a salary increase, and improved food and sports equipment.
The players’ protest served as an indication of future developments, and the predicament was further intensified on March 29 when the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) withdrew the women’s team from the AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifiers, mere six days prior to the commencement of the competition, on the grounds of financial limitations.
Despite their success in the SAFF Women’s Championship, this resulted in extensive censure of the local game’s governing body for failing to advance the women’s team to a more significant level of competition.
The situation became increasingly chaotic, and BFF became entangled in a dispute with the Youth and Sports Ministry and the Bangladesh Olympic Association over their alleged failure to respond positively to their request for financial assistance to send the team abroad.
The situation deteriorated further in mid-April when FIFA suspended Abu Nayeem Shohag, general secretary of the BFF. However, booters found solace in the declaration of the inaugural franchise-based Women’s Super League (WSL), which would provide them with financial incentives and competitive action. Nevertheless, despite the announcement being made eight months ago, the WSL has yet to materialize.
In the interim, seismic effects were generated by the departure of two national women’s team mainstays—forward Sirat Jahan Swapna and defender Akhi Khatun—and the resignation of long-serving coach Golam Rabbani Choton.
Bangladesh had previously advanced to the finals of the AFC U-17 Women’s Championship under Choton’s leadership; therefore, the elimination of the national U-17 women’s squad in the second round of AFC U-17 Women’s Championship Qualifiers was also quite surprising.
Commencing on a positive note, the third quarter of the year partially restored momentum. Following the signing of a six-month salary increase agreement between BFF and the national players, the resilient group eventually secured some opportunities to participate in international matches in September, when the Asian Games arrived.
Sabina Khatun and her colleagues utilized the loss to Vietnam, a World Cup-playing nation, and former World Cup champions Japan as learning opportunities. However, they managed to secure a draw against Nepal, a team with which Bangladesh has also played to a tie twice in international friendlies subsequent to their SAFF Women’s Championship.
In front of an ebullient home crowd, Sabina and company completed a full circle to conclude the year on a positive note by defeating Singapore 3-0 and 8-0 in two international friendlies earlier this month.
However, the booters are currently in a precarious position, as the forthcoming edition of the competition has been canceled by three-time WFL champions Bashundhara Kings, whose players demanded a substantial wage increase.