Trembling first steps to U16 rise

In the next three years, women's football teams were formed with players from handball, volleyball, swimming and athletics. It took another 12 years of ups and downs before a group of Under-16 girls made the whole nation proud with their spectacular performance, and shifted football's limelight towards the women. Here, Dhaka Tribune Sport takes a look at their tender steps.

The kick-off

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.

First international

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.

Spreading it in the districts

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.

Going back to school

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.

Going national

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.

Meeting the neighbours

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 on this day and it was the national women's team’s first international match.

A humbling at home

September 20, 2010: Bangladesh played in the AFC U-19 Women's Championship Qualifiers for the first time with India, Jordan and Iran in their group in Dhaka. The home side lost to Jordan on this day. They crashed out of the group stages winning none.

A minor success

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.

Nearly there

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. They beat UAE 6-0 in the second game. They lost to Iran to exit the qualifiers.

The first title

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.

The encore

May 01, 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.

The rise

September 03, 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.