Bangladesh’s women’s futsal team climbed two places to 42nd in the latest FIFA rankings after winning the SAFF Women’s Futsal Championship unbeaten. FIFA published the updated men’s and women’s futsal rankings on Friday.
Sabina Khatun and her teammates secured the regional title without losing a match. The result pushed Bangladesh up from 44th place in the women’s rankings.
Bangladesh already held a place in the women’s futsal rankings because the team played in the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup in 2017. The country’s men entered the FIFA futsal rankings only recently after playing international tournaments for the first time last year.
The Bangladesh men’s futsal team now sits 139th in the world rankings. The side played in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup qualifiers and later competed in the SAFF tournament.
FIFA currently ranks 96 countries in women’s futsal and 143 in men’s futsal. Brazil lead both rankings. The South American side continues to dominate the international futsal scene in both categories.
Bangladesh’s recent rise reflects increased activity in futsal over the last two years. The women’s team gained regular international exposure through SAFF competition, while the men’s side finally entered continental qualifying events after years without official matches.
