The Bangladesh female booters are prepared to face tougher challenges at senior level when they return to the international arena after a long gap of more than 20 months with the first round of Asian qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics beginning in Myanmar this week.
Only two countries from Asia will qualify for the Tokyo Olympics through four phases of qualifiers where a total 18 teams will be competing in the first round with Bangladesh being placed in Group C along with India, Myanmar and Nepal. The top finisher along with two of the best performing runners-up from four groups will qualify for next year’s second round.
Last time the Bangladesh women’s team participated in the Olympic [London 2012] qualifiers was back in 2011 when they lost both their group matches against India and Uzbekistan with the same margin of 3-0. A lot has changed in women’s football since then with more focus given on the development of women’s youth football which saw as many as eight youngsters from the U-16 team and 19 from the U-19 team getting included for the latest squad revealed Sunday.
Skipper Sabina Khatun, who has been accompanying different national youth teams as assistant coach in recent times, is the only senior player in the 20-member squad. The prolific star striker said during a presser on Saturday, “It would not be a problem to adjust with them. Staying with them is a big advantage which helped us bond well. We have a good understanding between us and will do our best.”
Sabina also echoed the same tone with head coach Golam Rabbani Choton who admitted that their biggest challenge would be the game against hosts Myanmar who are ranked 44th in Fifa rankings and this Bangladesh team never played against the neighbouring team.
“India and Nepal are familiar opponents to us and they have many senior players in their team. It was competitive encounters against them. Myanmar will be a new challenge. They are not only the top ranked team in the group but also have players aged above 28,” said Choton.
Choton added, “The key goal is development as well as gaining experience ahead of the Saff Women’s Championship [in December]. The experience from the recent AFC U19 campaign in Tajikistan will help us a lot. We have always been preparing and getting ready to take the new challenge.”
Bangladesh’s name was omitted from the list in the Fifa women’s rankings two months ago for not playing any international match for more than 18 months. Reminding the group opponents’ ranking, BFF women’s wing committee chairman Mahfuza Akter Kiron said, “We are working on age level but at the same time preparing the senior team. Our ranking is missing as we have not been playing. Hopefully once we return to playing international matches, our ranking will improve.”
Terming both the Tajikistan campaign and the upcoming Myanmar tour as an “invaluable experience” for the majority of the young members in the team, the BFF technical and strategic director Paul Smalley said, “This young group has done fantastically well so far and it’s really exciting for the future. In the short term (at senior level) it will be a huge challenge but in the longer term, a bright future awaits.”
Dhaka Bank Limited came forward to sponsor the Myanmar tour. Its Additional Managing Director Emranul Huq said, “We are proud to be part of women football and we are ready to sponsor the women’s team for a long time. Progress in the ranking is only a matter of time. We firmly believe we will play well in Myanmar.”
Meanwhile, Sabina Khatun and co will leave here for Yangon on Monday morning and kick off their campaign against Myanmar on November 8 before facing India and Nepal on November 11 and 13 respectively.
