Bangladesh women’s football team will fly to Australia on Thursday night to play in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. The squad includes Ritu Porna Chakma and Afeida. This will be Bangladesh’s first time in the tournament.
The Asian Cup will run from 1 to 21 March in three cities in Australia. Bangladesh are in Group B with North Korea, China and Uzbekistan. The team will play their first match against China on 3 March in Sydney.
The players feel excited before this big event. Recently, Ritu Porna posted a photo on social media during a short break and shared the hint of their journey. The mood in the camp remains positive.
Coach Peter Butler trained with the full squad after they returned from the SAFF Under 19 Championship. Sweden based Anika is also in the team. Still, the side could not get the full preparation they wanted. The football federation failed to arrange an overseas camp as the coach had asked. Officials first planned a camp in Thailand, but later cancelled it.
Because of this change, Monika Chakma, Maria Manda and their teammates will reach Australia earlier than planned. The team hopes to play a practice match against a local club in Sydney.
Bangladesh will play three group matches. The match against Uzbekistan on 9 March in Perth may be the most important. The two teams look close in strength. If Bangladesh win that game, they could still move forward as one of the two best runners up.
