Learning the target, not qualification

The Bangladesh under-17 women's football team will depart for the UAE on Sunday morning for two preparatory matches against Syria and UAE before heading to Jordan for the AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers.

However, the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) has tempered expectations due to inadequate preparation and last-minute changes in the coaching setup.

Following the historic qualification for AFC Women's Asian Cup and AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup recently, Bangladesh had the challenge of making it three-in-three with the U-17 qualification. However, with women's team's head coach Peter Butler occupied with the senior teams, the responsibility has been handed over to BFF technical director Saiful Bari Titu at the eleventh hour.

At a press conference held at the BFF House on Saturday, BFF women's wing chairperson Mahfuza Akter Kiron described the upcoming campaign as primarily a "learning experience" for the young squad.

"We didn't have the best of preparations. Coaches have been changed. Initially, Litu and Abul coached them, then Titu bhai took over at the eleventh hour," Kiron said.

"Our target is to see them play good, competitive football. Above all, it will be a learning experience for them. Our expectations are modest because Jordan and Chinese Taipei are very strong teams," she added.

Bangladesh previously qualified for the eight-team final round of the competition in 2017 and 2019, when it was known as the AFC U-16 Women's Championship. They failed to qualify for the revamped tournament in 2024 and now face a tough challenge in this edition, as indicated by Kiron's candid assessment.

"The teams that previously qualified were in long-term training camps. But this current team has only been in training for three to six months," she admitted.

Led by Arpita Biswas, the team will play against Syria on October 7 and the UAE on October 9 during a five-day preparation camp in the UAE. They will then travel to Jordan, where they begin their Group H campaign against the hosts on October 13 and conclude against Chinese Taipei on October 17.

Only the winners from each of the eight qualifying groups will advance to the final round, joining hosts China along with the top three teams from the previous edition -- North Korea, Japan, and South Korea -- in the tournament scheduled for April-May 2026.

The current squad includes two changes from the team that finished runners-up in last month's Saff U-17 Women's Championship.