Assistant coach Mahbubur Rahman Litu of the Bangladesh Women’s Football Team has stated that striker Sirat Jahan Swapna and head coach Golam Rabbani Choton have opted to step down from their roles as a result of the insufficient number of matches and the excessive amount of work that has been placed on the coaching staff.
Swapna made the announcement of her retirement on Friday through one of her social media accounts, and Choton followed suit shortly thereafter by confirming to The Daily Star that he will also be leaving his position.
Since the senior women’s squad won the SAFF championship in 2022, they have not competed in a single game since then.
The BFF had promised that it would organize international friendlies against Cambodia and Singapore, but it was unable to keep its word and fulfill its promise.
It has come to our attention that Swapna was presented with opportunities to play in the Indian Super League; however, she was unable to accept these opportunities because of the Bangladesh Women’s Super League, the specifics of which are still in the planning stages.
“She was experiencing a moderate amount of annoyance. Since we last played a game it has been eight months. We were planning on playing some games in Myanmar, but it didn’t end up happening. Both the Oman Super League in Bangladesh and the franchise league in India were not as successful as they had hoped to be.
“In addition to this, she wasn’t feeling okay after the surgery, and that is why she said she would call it quits,” Litu told The Daily Star when he was asked to explain Swapna’s retirement. Swapna had claimed that she would stop working because of this reason.
And with regard to Choton, Litu disclosed that the severe workload that they are required to endure is the reason that the successful coach resigned from his position.
The amount of strain that we are forced to bear is barbaric. There is an abnormally high amount of pressure. We wake up at four in the morning and are on the road to Kamalapur by five o’clock. Then we will need to conduct training for three different age-level teams. We are obligated to remain out in the field for the most of the day. Choton returns home at around 5:30 every evening. “The load is a significant amount,” Litu clarified.
“To begin, he complains that the challenges are too difficult. The second thing to note is that the area included by this work is rather large. In addition to that, his name isn’t spoken nearly as often as it should be, which is why he stated that he requires some relaxation. Since 2006, he has been residing at this location. In addition to that, he is unable to spend time with his family,” he continued.
When questioned about the financial incentives supplied by the BFF, Litu promised that there weren’t any problems of that nature; however, he did reveal that the Federation is two months overdue on salary payments to the players as well as the coaches. When asked about the financial incentives provided by the BFF, Litu provided assurances that there weren’t any problems of that nature.
There aren’t any major issues, although the pay of the girls and the instructors are two months behind schedule. They (BFF) assured us that payment will be made the next week. “As a rule, the payment is made on the fifth of each and every month,” he explained.
Choton’s deputy also said that the Chairman of the Women’s Wing Committee, Mahufuza Akter Kiran, has been in communication with the head coach in an effort to persuade him to remain in his position.