Bangladesh women’s football team hoped their participation in the inaugural edition of the Saff U-18 Championship would be a memorable campaign as a 30-member contingent, including 23 players, is all set to leave here for Bhutan’s capital Thimphu Wednesday afternoon.
This will be the first time that the Bangladesh girls will be taking part in an U-18 competition, but taking inspiration from the recently concluded AFC U-16 Championship qualifiers at home, head coach Golam Rabbani Choton was confident of carrying on their consistency in Bhutan as well.
As many as 13 players from that U-16 squad, including the likes of regular senior team members - Maria Manda, Akhi Khatun, Monika Chakma and Shamsunnahar – will be accompanying the U-18 troop. These players were also key members during Bangladesh’s dominating campaign in the Saff U-15 Championship in the same city last month.
Bangladesh U-18 football team will leave Dhaka for Bhutan Wednesday to take part in the Saff Women’s Championship.https://t.co/gCUkiMAmXh#BANGLADESH #FOOTBALL #BANGLADESHFOOTBALL #BFF #SAFFCHAMPIONSHIP #BANGLADESHU18FOOTBALLTEAM #BANGLADESHFOOTBALLTEAM #SAFFWOMENSCHAMPIONSHIP
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) September 20, 2018
The U-16 girls were given rest for the recovery after their last match against Vietnam Sunday and will resume training in Thimphu from Thursday. The rest of the squad members, who are aged between 16 to 18, however, have been out of competitive action for nearly a year.
“The girls are ready. The experience they gained playing in the U16 team will help the team a lot in Bhutan. The rest of the players have also been training and playing together alongside them. This is the first time for the girls to play in U-18 level. The girls want to make the tournament a memorable one,” said Choton.
Bangladesh will begin their campaign against Pakistan Sunday before facing Nepal two days later. They met the similar opponents in the same stage of the Saff U-15 Championship last month, winning both ties comfortably.
