Bangladesh women’s football reached its pinnacle Monday when the Bengal Tigresses clinched the Saff Championship for the first time in history.
The journey towards success is now complete but it was anything but easy for the women in red and green.
Starting from facing criticism from their families and society to encountering opposition from the fundamentalists, not to forget a lack of interest among sponsors, Bangladesh women footballers have conquered it all.
Here, Dhaka Tribune Sport takes a look at their tender steps, right till the sweet taste of triumph.
October 4, 2004: First ever women's football tournament kicked off at Kamalapur Stadium with the participation of eight teams. Dhaka, the eventual champions, beat VDP 1-0 in the opening game.
April 16, 2005: On this day, Bangladesh U-17 played their first ever international match, losing 1-0 against Guam in the Asian Football Confederation U-17 Championship in Namhe, South Korea. They later lost 24-0 against champions Japan and 3-2 against Hong Kong.
September 9, 2006: The first ever inter-district women’s football tournament began with Dhaka, Rajshahi, Khagrachari, Rangamati, Shariatpur and Narayanganj taking part. Dhaka beat Rajshahi 2-0 in the final.
October 24, 2008: The 12-team Dhaka Metropolitan Women's School Football Tournament begins. It was the first ever tournament for the school girls. Aga Khan School emerged as champions.
January 30, 2009: The first ever Women's National Football Championship gets underway. Twenty-five participating teams including 23 districts and two services competed in four zones. Ansar won the title beating Narayanganj in the final.
January 29, 2010: Bangladesh women's team participate in the South Asian Games football event for the first time. They lost to Nepal in their opening game and it was the national women's team’s first international match.
September 20, 2010: Hosts Bangladesh played in the AFC U-19 Women's Championship Qualifiers for the first time with India, Jordan and Iran in their group. The home side lost to Jordan before crashing out of the group stage without winning any.
December 13, 2010: The first ever South Asian Football Federation Women's Championship began in Dhaka where Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka 2-0 in the opening day. Bangladesh lost to Nepal in the last four.
October 15, 2014: Bangladesh took part in the AFC U-16 Women's Championship Qualifiers for the first time. They beat Jordan 1-0 in the opening game, thrashed UAE 6-0 in the second before losing to Iran to bow out of the qualifiers.
December 20, 2015: Bangladesh girls made history by winning their first ever international title in the AFC U-14 Girls' Regional (South and Central) Championship. They beat Nepal 1-0 in the final. Iran, India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka also took part in the event.
May 1, 2016: The girls in red and green retained the title of the AFC U-14 Girls' Regional Championship in Tajikistan. They were unbeaten throughout the tournament and beat India 4-0 in the final in Dushanbe.
September 3, 2016: Bangladesh girls created history by qualifying for the final round of the 2017 AFC Under-16 Women’s Championship for the first time after beating Chinese Taipei 4-2 in their fourth Group C match in Dhaka.
December 24, 2017: Bangladesh girls finished as the unbeaten champions in the Saff U-15 Championship in Dhaka.
April 1, 2018: Bangladesh girls emerged as the unbeaten champions in the Jockey Club International Youth Tournament in Hong Kong.
September 23, 2018: Bangladesh girls finished as the unbeaten champions in the AFC U-16 Championship Qualifiers in Dhaka.
October 7, 2018: Bangladesh girls emerged as the unbeaten champions in the Saff U-18 Championship in Nepal.
May 3, 2019: Bangladesh girls ended as joint unbeaten champions in the Bangamata U-19 International Football Tournament.
December 22, 2021: Bangladesh girls finished as the champions in the Saff U-19 Championship.
March 25, 2022: Bangladesh girls ended as the runners-up in the Saff U-18 Championship in Jamshedpur, India.
June 26, 2022: Bangladesh women won the two-match Fifa tier one international friendly series against their Malaysian counterparts.
September 19, 2022: Bangladesh women win the Saff Championship for the first time in history.