Bangladesh’s Nasrin Sports Academy, led by Sanjida Akter, suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat in their opening match at the inaugural South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women’s Club Championship in Kathmandu on Friday. The team, last year’s Bangladesh Women’s Football League champions, were outclassed by hosts APF Club.
Last year, the Nasrin Sports squad included several national team players, such as Sabina, Krishna, Masura, and Rupna. This year, the club had hoped to field a similarly strong lineup, but British national team coach Peter Butler refused to release certain players from camp. As a result, Rupna, Rituporna, Sabina, and Krishna were unavailable. Nasrin ultimately named Sanjida Akter as captain, alongside Under-17 captain Arpita Biswas, Suravi Akand Preeti, and a handful of other players.
While officially managed by women’s sports organiser Nasrin Akter Bebi, it is widely understood within Bangladeshi football that Mahfuza Akter Kiran, head of the BFF women’s wing, holds primary authority over the team. Several BFF coaches and staff accompanied the squad to Kathmandu. Since arriving on 3 December, neither the club nor the federation had released player lists or match results to the media, with BFF posting a brief Facebook update just one hour after the match.
Former BFF president Kazi Salauddin, who also serves as SAFF president, attended the opening day, despite often missing previous tournaments. Mahfuza Akter Kiran, AFC Executive Committee member and head of the BFF women’s wing, was also present, having been absent from the BFF executive meeting in Dhaka on 3 December.
The SAFF Women’s Club Championship features one club each from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bhutan. Each team will play all other sides once, with the two top-ranked teams advancing to the final.
