Sabina, Krishna want to raise bar

Bangladesh national women's football team captain Sabina Khatun and forward Krishna Rani Sarkar will appear for Sethu FC, a Tamil Nadu-based club, in the final round of the second edition of the Indian Women's Football League, scheduled to kick off on March 16.

The league will feature seven teams from seven regions of India and will be played in a round robin format, with the top four teams making it to the semifinals. The league final is slated for April 15. All the matches will be played in Shillon, according to reports in Indian media.

Sabina, a prolific striker of the national team, said this is an opportunity for them to showcase Bangladesh women's football in a greater light so that future generations can get more opportunities to play in overseas leagues.

“This is my second time playing in an overseas league. I have played in the Maldives Football League and Futsal League a few times. But the difference in class in terms of football between the two countries is huge. This will be highly competitive as there will be many foreign footballers there. However, this is our opportunity to showcase our skill and talent. I hope both of us play well and create opportunities for future women footballers from Bangladesh to feature in such leagues,” the veteran striker, who scored 22 goals in the Maldives Women's Football League in 2015 apart from scoring plenty in the two editions of Futsal Leagues there, said during a press conference at the BFF House yesterday.

“Both players are very good and they are physically very fit. National women's team coach Golam Rabbani Choton said. “I hope they will prove their worth and pave the way for more women footballers from Bangladesh.”

The press conference was attended, among others, by BFF Women's Wing chairman and FIFA member Mahfuza Akter Kiron, BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag and the federation's strategic director Paul Smalley.