Rajshahi Stars will represent Bangladesh in the upcoming AFC Women’s Champions League after the club completed registration for the continental competition on Tuesday.
The Asian Football Confederation reviewed and approved the application in recent days. Bangladesh will now feature in the tournament for the first time after missing the previous two editions.
Rajshahi Stars won the Bangladesh Women’s Football League title in their debut season. The club built a squad around several Bangladesh internationals, including Ritu Porna Chakma and Rupna Chakma, and finished the campaign unbeaten.
The club initially rejected the chance to enter the AFC competition despite winning the domestic title. Women’s football regulations differ from the men’s format. In the men’s AFC club competitions, another club can replace the champions if licensing conditions block participation. The women’s competition does not currently allow that route.
Bangladesh Football Federation then urged Rajshahi Stars to reconsider. The club reversed its decision before the registration deadline and secured Bangladesh’s place in the tournament.
Club president Mokhchhedul Kamal Babu wants Bangladesh to host matches during the competition.
“We want to play in Bangladesh. We have requested BFF to help us become hosts.”
The third edition of the AFC Women’s Champions League will begin in August. Bangladesh’s women’s national team has dominated South Asian football in recent years with back-to-back SAFF Women’s Championship titles, but many of the country’s leading players previously featured in AFC club competitions only through foreign clubs. Rajshahi Stars will now provide a domestic pathway into Asia’s top women’s club tournament.
