Women’s team to tour Jordan for tri-nation series, Sabina and others left out of contract

The Bangladesh women's football team will play a tri-nation series in Jordan ahead of the AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers. The series is being organized as preparation for the qualifiers, which will take place in Myanmar in June-July. Host country Jordan, Indonesia, and Bangladesh will participate in the series. This was confirmed by Mahfuza Akhter Kiron, head of the women's wing of BFF.

She mentioned that the Bangladesh team will travel to Jordan on May 27. They will play two matches— the first on May 31 and the second on June 3. Coach Peter Butler wants the team to arrive early to have some practice time before the matches. The planning is being done accordingly.

During the preparation phase, Bangladesh will face two teams ranked higher—Jordan (74th) and Indonesia (94th). Kiron believes playing against such teams will help the players understand their weaknesses, and the coach can assess the necessary preparations.

However, many of the experienced players will not be part of this tour. Captain Sabina Khatun, who is playing in the Bhutan league, and 10 other rebel players are not being contracted by BFF for now. Out of the 18 players in the camp, the contract process has started for 8 players.

Kiron mentioned that Sabina and the others will be considered if they return and join the camp. However, whether they will be included in the Jordan tour depends on Coach Peter Butler’s decision.

It’s also worth mentioning that in March, the Bangladesh women's team played two friendly matches against the UAE, but Sabina and the 18 rebel players were not part of those matches. So, their participation in the Jordan tour is still uncertain.