JFA U-14 girls’ talent-hunt football tourney kicks off Saturday

A new edition of the JFA U-14 Women's Youth Development Programme will kick off on Saturday, featuring teams from 42 districts across the country.

Launched in 2015 as a talent-hunting initiative with financial support from the Japan Football Association (JFA), the competition has served as a key scouting ground for the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF).

This year's participants have been split into six groups, with matches to be played in Magura, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Rangpur, Rangamati and Madaripur.

"We identify promising players here, keep them in the pipeline, and later hold trials to select them for the age-group national camp," said BFF women's wing chairman, Mahfuza Akhter Kiron, at a press conference at the BFF House on Thursday.

Kiron informed that while participation from the Sylhet region has been lower, most other districts have responded positively, with promising players emerging from across the country.

The six venue champions, along with the best runners-up from the groups, will join the host district in the eight-team final round in Rajshahi.

The women's wing head further informed that the format has been tweaked this year to ensure each team play at least two matches, replacing the previous knockout system.

Each team will receive Tk 45,000 in participation money, with the host district also receiving the same amount to help run the tournament smoothly.