Sabina flies for Gokulam Kerala

Bangladesh women’s national team captain Sabina Khatun flew to India yesterday evening to play for Gokulam Kerala in the third edition of Indian Women’s League, which got underway on Sunday in Ludhiana.

Sabina was initially offered a stint in women’s league in Chinese Taipei, but the 24-year-old striker failed to obtain work permit for the country, and in the meantime, she had refused an offer from Sethu FC, an Indian Women’s League outfit where she played last season.

Sabina had scored seven goals to power Sethu FC to the semifinals last year. The striker from Satkhira had also previously plied her trade in a futsal tournament in Maldives. But after she was refused a visa for Chinese Taipei, it seemed as if her overseas exploits would not be possible this season, only for a last-ditch offer from Gokulam Kerala, who posted a 5-0 win against defending champions Rising Student Club in the opening match.

“I want to improve the country’s image by playing good football for Gokulam Kerala, who offered me the opportunity at the last moment,” Sabina told reporters before her departure.

“I could not avail the opportunity to play in Chinese Taipei due to visa issue and I thought the chance of playing in a foreign league this year was over as I had also refused an offer from Sethu FC, who have already filled their foreign players’ quota by signing two Nepalese players. But then suddenly, I got the offer from Gokulam Kerela and accepted it,” added Sabina.

A total of 12 teams, split into two groups, will play the round-robin league and top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals. The final will take place on May 22.