Bangladesh women’s national football team kicked off their Australian preparations on Saturday in Sydney, completing their first training session less than 12 hours after landing. The squad arrived late Friday night and trained the following morning as they build towards their historic AFC Women’s Asian Cup debut. The focus now sits firmly on fitness, recovery and adapting to conditions.
Goalkeeper coach Masud Ahamad struck a calm and reassuring tone straight away. “We reached the team hotel around midnight from the airport, had dinner, and then completed our training session from 8 to 10 in the morning,” he said, stressing routine over drama. The message felt deliberate: this group want normality, not excuses.
Travel fatigue, he admitted, remains unavoidable. “There is some tiredness from the journey among the players,” Masud said, acknowledging the physical reality of long-haul travel. He quickly balanced that with reassurance shaped by quiet confidence.
The coaching staff now prioritise adaptation. “We are trying to adjust to the weather, and the players are following the coach’s instructions,” Masud said, underlining discipline rather than flair. He described the first session as positive, a small but important step after a draining journey.
Bangladesh have set up camp at Valentine Sports Park, where they will spend the next seven days. The base matters, especially for a team facing Asia’s elite.
Masud left little room for doubt about the surroundings. “This place has all the facilities a proper football team needs, so we are not facing any problems at all,” he said, his relief unmistakable. For a squad often battling limitations back home, that sentence carried extra weight.
The camp comes ahead of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which begins on 1 March. Bangladesh open their Group B campaign against nine-time champions China on 3 March, before facing North Korea and Uzbekistan.
