‘this Is For Every Girl In Bangladesh’: Debutants Dream Big At Asian Cup

The sun was starting to break done Dhaka’s greeting haze erstwhile a autobus pulled up beside nan transportation astatine nan Bashundhara Kings Arena conscionable aft 5.30am. As nan doors hissed open, nan girls tumbled retired 1 by one, hairsbreadth tied back, boots slung complete shoulders, already wide awake and buzzing pinch energy.

It was nan commencement of different dawn believe convention for nan Bangladesh women’s nationalist shot team, but spirits were high. With internationals connected nan sky and title increasing stronger, nan girls had nary clip to spare. At nan beforehand of nan squad was Afeida Khandaker, nan fierce and softly assured skipper who precocious led Bangladesh to suffice for nan AFC Women’s Asian Cup for nan first time. “I want our girls to beryllium recognised for their brilliance and our caller triumph did precisely that,” nan 18-year-old defender says proudly. “But we are only conscionable getting started. We want to show nan world what Bangladesh is genuinely tin of.”

The Bangladesh women’s nationalist shot squad shares a lighthearted infinitesimal connected nan autobus aft a greeting believe convention successful August 2025. Photograph: Farzana Hossen/The Guardian

The squad topped Group C successful nan 2026 qualifiers, defeating Bahrain 7-0, Myanmar 2-1 and Turkmenistan 7-0 to decorativeness pinch 9 points from 3 matches. They now subordinate teams specified arsenic Japan, China and South Korea successful Australia adjacent year, and a apical decorativeness location could seal qualification for nan Women’s World Cup and moreover nan Olympic Games, marking a awesome milestone successful their shot journey.

The group person besides achieved their biggest ever leap successful nan Fifa world rankings, rising 24 places to 104th, nan highest summation among each nations successful nan latest cycle. “This accomplishment isn’t conscionable ours – it belongs to each woman successful Bangladesh who dares to dream,” says Khandaker. “It’s impervious of what faith, difficult work, and unity tin achieve. But we’re not stopping here. The adjacent fewer months of mentation will beryllium reliable but we are up for nan challenge.”

Back successful their edifice rooms, nan squad are much relaxed; lounging astir successful PJs, making TikTok videos and packing for a formation nan pursuing morning. Many of them are still adjusting to life arsenic nationalist footballers. Having travel from mostly disadvantaged backgrounds, they’re learning to navigate a caller world distant from location system astir training, strict routines, and nutrition charts. Despite having entree to room work astatine five-star hotels, nan girls person been utilizing kettles to boil potatoes and scissors to trim up onions to make bhorta, a accepted Bangladeshi dish. “We’re still getting utilized to world cuisine,” says Khandaker sheepishly. “And sometimes aft a large game, we conscionable want immoderate comfortableness food. A small thing from backmost home.”

Khandaker had a humble upbringing successful Satkhira, south-west Bangladesh, wherever her father, an avid footballer, erstwhile played astatine territory level. He aspired to play internationally but, for illustration galore Bangladeshi men, had nary prime but to wantonness his dreams and migrate to nan mediate eastbound to support his family. When he returned he had saved capable to commencement a mini business and group up an amateur shot academy for section kids; Khandaker and her elder sister Afra were his first students. “My passion for shot comes from my father,” says nan captain. “He wanted to beryllium that girls could play shot conscionable arsenic good arsenic boys – if not amended – and pushed america harder than anyone else.”

Afeida Khandaker, nan 18-year-old skipper of Bangladesh, credits her father’s enthusiasm for girls’ shot for her emotion of nan game. Photograph: Farzana Hossen/The Guardian

As children, erstwhile nan siblings were excessively tired to train aliases tally laps, their begetter would pursuit them astir a section pinch mud successful his hands, recalls Khandaker, laughing. “At location he was our abbu, but connected nan section he was our coach and he ne'er gave america a time off!” Their difficult activity paid off. Aged 11, Khandaker was selected for nan Bangladesh Football Federation’s nationalist training campy while Afra pivoted to boxing and precocious competed successful nan semi-finals of Bangladesh’s nationalist boxing championship. “We’re really fortunate to person supportive parents and dream our occurrence inspires different girls to prosecute athletics without self-doubt,” says Khandaker. “We’ve worked really difficult to get to wherever we are but without a due support strategy nary of it would person been possible.”

Khandaker and her teammates are wished to excel internationally, and nan British caput coach, Peter Butler, believes they are good connected their way. “It’s been a reliable fewer months of development, aggravated training and building resilience,” says nan erstwhile West Ham midfielder. “But nan girls person shown singular advancement and I’m dormant proud. This is simply a young group playing fearlessly against teams classed importantly higher than them – they’re improving pinch each crippled and becoming a unit to beryllium reckoned with.” Butler has been training nan squad since March 2024 and it’s not conscionable his subject and activity ethic that person rubbed disconnected – immoderate of nan girls person started pronouncing English words pinch a Yorkshire accent.

A fewer months aft Butler arrived successful Dhaka, a student uprising that sparked wide protests passim nan state quickly turned convulsive pinch hundreds killed astatine nan hands of information forces. The uprising led to nan constitution of an interim government nether nan Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which has focused connected stabilising nan country. But, successful nan aftermath of nan governmental shift, activists opportunity location is still a batch of work to beryllium done.

The British coach Peter Butler has been nan caput coach of nan Bangladesh women’s nationalist shot squad since March 2024. Photograph: Farzana Hossen/The Guardian

Earlier this year, radicals vandalised a transportation earlier a women’s shot match, causing its cancellation, creating uproar connected societal media and fearfulness among nan women’s squad that their games whitethorn beryllium affected too. But nan Bangladesh Football Federation quickly stepped in, issuing beardown statements and putting information measures successful place. “It’s sad that location are group who still deliberation girls shouldn’t beryllium playing football,” says Khandaker. “Bangladeshi women are starring successful each aspects of nan nationalist sphere – nan transportation should beryllium nary exception.”

The threats person not deterred Khandaker and her teammates who proceed proving nan naysayers incorrect and stay hopeful for nan future. “I retrieve watching nan World Cup connected TV pinch my family successful 2022 and wishing I could beryllium there,” recalls Khandaker, who was invited to circuit Qatar earlier this year. “It felt intolerable astatine nan clip but arsenic I stood location silently successful that immense stadium, I wondered what different dreams of excavation were wrong reach”. With nan squad headed to Australia adjacent year, immoderate victories whitethorn travel sooner than they think.

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