‘This is for every girl in Bangladesh’: debutants dream big at Asian Cup | OneFootball

The sun was starting to break through Dhaka’s morning haze when a bus pulled up beside the pitch at the Bashundhara Kings Arena just after 5.30am. As the doors hissed open, the girls tumbled out one by one, hair tied back, boots slung over shoulders, already wide awake and buzzing with energy.

It was the start of another dawn practice session for the Bangladesh women’s national football team, but spirits were high. With internationals on the horizon and competition growing stronger, the girls had no time to spare. At the front of the squad was Afeida Khandaker, the fierce and quietly confident captain who recently led Bangladesh to qualify for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup for the first time. “I want our girls to be recognised for their brilliance and our recent victory did exactly that,” the 18-year-old defender says proudly. “But we are only just getting started. We want to show the world what Bangladesh is truly capable of.”

The team topped Group C in the 2026 qualifiers, defeating Bahrain 7-0, Myanmar 2-1 and Turkmenistan 7-0 to finish with nine points from three matches. They now join teams such as Japan, China and South Korea in Australia next year, and a top finish there could seal qualification for the Women’s World Cup and even the Olympic Games, marking a major milestone in their football journey.

The group have also achieved their biggest ever leap in the Fifa world rankings, rising 24 places to 104th, the highest gain among all nations in the latest cycle. “This achievement isn’t just ours – it belongs to every girl in Bangladesh who dares to dream,” says Khandaker. “It’s proof of what faith, hard work, and unity can achieve. But we’re not stopping here. The next few months of preparation will be tough but we are up for the challenge.”

Back in their hotel rooms, the team are more relaxed; lounging around in PJs, making TikTok videos and packing for a flight the following morning. Many of them are still adjusting to life as national footballers. Having come from mostly disadvantaged backgrounds, they’re learning to navigate a new world away from home structured around training, strict routines, and nutrition charts. Despite having access to room service at five-star hotels, the girls have been using kettles to boil potatoes and scissors to cut up onions to make bhorta, a traditional Bangladeshi dish. “We’re still getting used to international cuisine,” says Khandaker sheepishly. “And sometimes after a big game, we just want some comfort food. A little something from back home.”

Khandaker had a modest upbringing in Satkhira, south-west Bangladesh, where her father, an avid footballer, once played at district level. He aspired to play internationally but, like many Bangladeshi men, had no choice but to abandon his dreams and migrate to the middle east to support his family. When he returned he had saved enough to start a small business and set up an amateur football academy for local kids; Khandaker and her elder sister Afra were his first students. “My passion for football comes from my father,” says the captain. “He wanted to prove that girls could play football just as well as boys – if not better – and pushed us harder than anyone else.”

As children, when the siblings were too tired to train or run laps, their father would chase them around a field with mud in his hands, recalls Khandaker, laughing. “At home he was our abbu, but on the field he was our coach and he never gave us a day off!” Their hard work paid off. Aged 11, Khandaker was selected for the Bangladesh Football Federation’s national training camp while Afra pivoted to boxing and recently competed in the semi-finals of Bangladesh’s national boxing championship. “We’re really lucky to have supportive parents and hope our success inspires other girls to pursue sport without self-doubt,” says Khandaker. “We’ve worked really hard to get to where we are but without a proper support system none of it would have been possible.”

Khandaker and her teammates are determined to excel internationally, and the British head coach, Peter Butler, believes they are well on their way. “It’s been a tough few months of development, intense training and building resilience,” says the former West Ham midfielder. “But the girls have shown remarkable progress and I’m dead proud. This is a young group playing fearlessly against teams ranked significantly higher than them – they’re improving with every game and becoming a force to be reckoned with.” Butler has been training the team since March 2024 and it’s not just his discipline and work ethic that have rubbed off – some of the girls have started pronouncing English words with a Yorkshire accent.

A few months after Butler arrived in Dhaka, a student uprising that sparked mass protests throughout the country quickly turned violent with hundreds killed at the hands of security forces. The uprising led to the establishment of an interim government under the Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, which has focused on stabilising the country. But, in the wake of the political shift, activists say there is still a lot of work to be done.

Earlier this year, radicals vandalised a pitch before a women’s football match, causing its cancellation, creating uproar on social media and fear among the women’s team that their games may be affected too. But the Bangladesh Football Federation quickly stepped in, issuing strong statements and putting security measures in place. “It’s sad that there are people who still think girls shouldn’t be playing football,” says Khandaker. “Bangladeshi women are leading in all aspects of the public sphere – the pitch should be no exception.”

The threats have not deterred Khandaker and her teammates who continue proving the naysayers wrong and remain hopeful for the future. “I remember watching the World Cup on TV with my family in 2022 and wishing I could be there,” recalls Khandaker, who was invited to tour Qatar earlier this year. “It felt impossible at the time but as I stood there silently in that vast stadium, I wondered what other dreams of mine were within reach”. With the team headed to Australia next year, some victories may come sooner than they think.

Talking points

Glasgow’s kit statementGlasgow City have launched a new home kit with a bold strategy, selling it before revealing the team or design. Partnering with Foudy’s, a retailer focused on women’s sports merchandise, they invited fans to buy based on the club’s values alone. The unseen kit has become the fastest-selling shirt in the club’s history.

Aigles on songThe West African Football Union Zone A Qualifiers for the 2025 Caf Women’s Champions League concluded this weekend, with Senegal’s top club, Aigles de la Médina, clinching the championship title after a series of hard-fought matches. Their triumph earned them a spot in the tournament, where they will face off against the best clubs in Africa.

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The Afghanistan women’s national team have been struggling to maintain their right to play the sport they love. Since the Taliban banned women from sports in 2021, their battle has intensified. While Fifa has created a Refugee Team pilot featuring Afghan players, it still does not officially recognise the Afghan Women’s team, leaving 75 displaced athletes without national representation.

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“We play for identity, for resistance and for the people who can’t play for themselves” – Palestine goalkeeper Charlotte Phillips on the women’s football team’s recent participation in the 2026 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Book corner

At a moment when women’s football has reached unprecedented heights, Girls with Goals: How Women’s Football Took Over the World by Clelia Castro-Malaspina feels like a perfectly timed celebration. The book masterfully weaves together the complex history of women’s football from its working-class English roots to it becoming a global phenomenon. Blending bold storytelling with striking visuals, it tackles challenges like England’s 50-year ban while celebrating the sport’s resilience and growth.

Still want more?

Arsenal are launching a prize draw for fans to meet and greet players after matches. With all the team’s home WSL games at the Emirates this season, the initiative is designed to help manage the time players spend pitchside with fans.

Fridolina Rolfö joins Manchester United, Arsenal’s Laura Wienroither heads to City and London City Lionesses make another big move. It’s all in our women’s summer transfer interactive guide.

Header image: [Photograph: Farzana Hossen/The Guardian]