Bangladesh may be well below Iran, India, Hong Kong and Malaysia when it comes to FIFA ranking as a footballing nation. It’s true that with 102nd in FIFA ranking Bangladesh is also lagging behind neighbouring Himalayan nation Nepal (ranked 94th). But Bangladeshi young female booters have routed their counterparts from all these countries in recent months.    

A galaxy of young female booters has redrawn the footballing territory with some back-to-back remarkable performances. The age-based girls’ football teams of Bangladesh earned wonderful accolades rekindling hope that our football performance is catching up with the cricketing acumen, reports the UNB.

Women footballers’ achievements are all the more welcoming against the backdrop of Bangladesh’s male booters’ long hiatus from international tournaments (nearly 18-month to be precise) until last month. 

Golam Rabbani Choton work hard behind them as head coach as-usual as Bangladesh Under-15 Women’s Football team clinched the title of the four-team Jockey Club Girls International Youth Invitational Football Tournament with all-win record.

Maria Manda’s side outclassed hosts Hong Kong 6-0 goals at Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground in Hong Kong on April 1 to get the title, starting the tournament with stunning 10-1 goals victory in the opener against Malaysia before upset the Asian power house Iran 8-1 goals.

Tohura Khatun scored the highest eight goals with two hat-tricks each one against Iran and Hong Kong among the 24 goals in three matches for Bangladesh while their opponents found the net twice.

With her stunning show in Hong Kong, Tohura completed four hat-tricks in international age level event as the forward struck hat-ticks twice before in the SAFF U15 Women’s Championship against Nepal at home and against India in the final of AFC U-14 Women’s Championship (zonal) in Tajikistan, back 2017 and in 2016 respectively.

Bangladesh girls clinched AFC Under-14 (Zonal) Women’s Championship in Nepal and Tajikistan in in 2015 and 2016.

Leaving from Hong Kong, Tohura Khatun, Shamsunnahar, Shamsunnahar and the other pride girls of Bangladesh team landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday night with spirited minds as they secured three age-level tournament in international football within three years.

However, in December 24, 2017 the roaring girls completed a successful campaign at home clinching the four-nation South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-15 Women’s Championship title defeating India in the final by one goal, which scored by Shamsunnahar.

In the SAFF U15 Women’s Championship, Bangladesh conceded no goals to set the record that for the first time they clinched any age-level international tournament title without conceding any goals and also with all-win record.

Including the one goal in the final, Bangladesh scored 13 goals in the four matches of the tournament.

They beat India by 3-0, Bhutan by 3-0 and Nepal by 6-0 in the opener of the league stage battles where forward Tohura Khatun slammed a hat-trick, which was her second hat-trick in any international age level event as she recorded another hat-trick in their 4-0 goal victory against India in the final of AFC U-14 Women’s Championship (zonal) in Tajikistan, back in 2016.

Bangladesh team defender Akhi Khatun who scored two goals for a 3-0 win against Bhutan and showed doughty performance throughout the tournament on artificial turf was adjudged most valuable player of the tournament.

Bangladesh U16 side staged an excellent team-game on a preparation camp in China in April 2017 where all players showed heart and desire, displaying their commitment to finish the tour on a winning note.

The Bengal girls beat the physically superior side Chinese U14 Team 3-1 asserting their dominance in this match from the very beginning at the Olympic Sports Village in Xian of Shaanxi Province on April 26.

On their China tour, Bangladesh lost the first match 0-1 loss against CPA U-14 team, played out goalless draw the second match against the same team, defeated Shaanxi U15 side by 4-1 goals before rout Chinese U14 by 3-1 goals.

It will be injustice, if we do not take the name of let Sabina Yasmin who passed away in September 26, 2017, from fever was a promising footballer of the national women’s under-15 team and a ninth grader of Kalshindur Government School and College of Mymensingh.

A right-wing player, Sabina was in the squad of the under-15 team for SAFF U-15 Women’s Championship and also in the preliminary squad of the AFC Regional U-14 Championship Qualifiers in 2015 in Tajikistan where Bangladesh had emerged champions.

Kalshindur is the school, which produced most of the age-level fighters of girls Bangladesh Women’s team participating in the Bangamata Gold Cup Football Tournament.

The pride girls of Bangladesh U-15 team who toured to Hong Kong: Mahmuda Akhter, Rupna Chakma, Akhi Khatun, Nilufa Yesmin Nila, Anai Mogini, Nazma, Dipa Khatun, Rumi Akther, Runa Akther, Maria Manda (captain), Monica Chakma, Laboni Akter, Tohura Khatun, Munni Akter, Shamsunnahar Sr, Sohagi Kisku, Ritu Porna Chakma, Sajeda Khatun, Anuching Mogini and Shamsunnahar Jr.