Maria Manda new captain of Bangladesh

2026-05-25T11:20:09.717Z

The biggest women's football tournament in South Asia, the SAFF Women's Championship 2026, is starting in Goa, India from today. The Bangladesh team has made a big change ahead of the tournament. English coach Peter James Butler has announced the name of midfielder Maria Manda as the new captain, replacing defender Afaida Khandaker.

Maria's name was announced at the official press conference of the tournament held in Goa on Sunday.

Mahfuza Akhter Kiron, chairman of the BFF women's wing, explained the reason for the sudden change in leadership. He said that Afaida Khandaker was the captain of the team before the Thailand tour. She also led the team in a two-week training camp in Bangkok and two warm-up matches. However, after evaluating the overall performance, coach Butler decided to make Maria Manda the new captain.

Striker Sabina Khatun has led the Bangladesh women's football team for a long time. Under her leadership, Bangladesh became SAFF champions for two consecutive times in 2022 and 2024. However, due to tactical differences with coach Peter Butler, she did not return to the national team.

After Sabina, the leadership was handed over to young defender Afaida Khandaker. Later, Maria Manda and Rituparna Chakma returned to the team, but the BFF and the coaching staff had confidence in Afaida. She even led the team in the main stage of the Asian Cup held in Australia.

However, just before entering the field on a mission to retain the SAFF title, the leadership was handed over to the experienced Maria Manda.

The Women's SAFF Championship begins today with the India-Maldives and Nepal-Bhutan matches. The first match of the current champion Bangladesh, who is in Group 'B', will be against the Maldives on May 28. Then, Maria Manda's team will face host India in the last match of the group stage on May 31.

The semi-finals will be held on June 3 and 4 with the best four teams from both groups. The curtain will fall on this South Asian women's football tournament with the final on June 7.