Liton Ali, the father of latest women’s football sensation Sagorika Akhter, runs a tea stall near his house in their village Rangatungi that is known as one of the hubs for producing female footballers.
The village is located in Nonduar union of Ranisankail upazila in Thakurgaon district, the north-western part of the country with almost half of its boundary sharing border with India.
A college teacher, Tazul Islam, formed a football club for young girls in 2016 and named it Rangatungi United Women’s Football Club.
It was like a non-residential countryside academy giving primary football lessons to girls starting from the age of 10.
During the early days of the venture, Sagorika was too young to join but used to watch other girls play and became fond of the game. She made a wish.
She wanted to play too but her father refused. He said “No” but Sagorika was not about to give up.
Liton told Dhaka Tribune that it was not fully his personal decision to bar his daughter from playing football but concern of the local people that made him do this.
“It was a problem of my locality. People in the surroundings talked negative things about girls playing football. That is why I didn’t let her play,” Liton said over phone from his tea stall.
“I’m a poor man. I thought if she got engaged in sports, I couldn’t arrange marriage for her. I was worried about her future and couldn’t allow her to play.”
Sagorika though was adamant with her decision.
She continued to seek approval and soon, got an aunt by her side who convinced the parents to send her to the field.
She played under the guidance of Tazul at the Rangatungi club and caught the attention with her talent and skills.
She turned into a striker from midfielder and got into the main team within a year.
Along with half a dozen girls from Rangatungi, she got the chance at Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protishthan but left the sports institution in less than a year. Liton did not like it.
While talking to Dhaka Tribune, Tazul explained the reason behind Sagorika’s drop out. Sagorika wanted to carry on training with her own method at Rangatungi after finding out that BKSP’s style did not suit her schooling and was rather a hindrance.
But Liton once again lost faith on his daughter.
“I became very sad after she returned home and stopped talking to her for a month. Now I realized my daughter was right all the time. I made the mistake. I’m guilty,” he said.
Liton was talking in a cheerful mood. He admitted that nothing ever made him so happy than seeing Sagorika scoring goals on TV that he managed in order to watch live action from the stall.
He is a big fan of Argentina and experienced Lionel Messi’s side lifting the World Cup trophy after more than three decades but the joy of his own daughter’s goals was much more.
Sagorika netted her maiden international brace during Bangladesh’s opening match of the SAFF Under-19 Women’s Championship against Nepal last Friday before adding the only goal as well as the winner of the second encounter against India two days later.
Liton also watched Sagorika’s games live for the first time surrounded by local people overcrowding to join the rural party in front of the tea stall for two unforgettable evenings that he will cherish forever.
“There were so many people last night to watch the match that I couldn’t arrange space for all of them. They became overjoyed with the goal and to say my feeling, it was the best in the world,” he said.
It was a goal that came two minutes into stoppage time against the favorites as Sagorika, collecting a long ball, broke into the penalty area with a smooth run before applying the calm finish that not only snatched victory over the archrivals but also put Bangladesh into the final with a game in hand.
“I earn very little. This tea stall run by me and my wife is our only earning source. One of the spectators splashed Tk500 to bring sweets and distribute among the crowds to celebrate the win,” he said.
“Seeing her hell-bent on her decision, I even wanted to throw her out of the house. Now I’m embarrassed. I don’t know how to stand in front of her next time. I’m very ashamed.
“Those who didn’t like her playing at the beginning also changed their mind. People respect me only because of my daughter. Now I encourage her to keep playing and do better in the future.”
