Tanima shines as Army beat debutant Police in opening WFL match

Tanima Biswas struck twice to hand Bangladesh Army a 2–0 victory over Police FC in the opening match of the Bangladesh Women's Football League at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamalapur on Monday.

Police FC, who formed a team for the first time with much fanfare and handed the captaincy to Sanjida Akter, could not mark their league debut with a win as Army made better use of their chances.

Despite Police fielding several familiar faces from the SAFF-winning squad -- including Sanjida, Irene Khatun, Mosammat Sagorika and Kohati Kisku -- the opening exchanges lacked intensity, .

Police FC came close in the 12th minute when Sagorika found space inside the box, but her effort from a tight angle was comfortably saved by Army goalkeeper Mili Akter. Clear-cut chances were scarce until the 39th minute, when Tanima broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion.

The midfielder unleashed a long-range effort from around 35 yards, the ball sailing over Police goalkeeper Taslima Akter and dipping into the net to spark jubilant celebrations.

Army sealed the win in the 69th minute with another swift counter-attack. Tanima raced onto Sultana Khatun's through ball and finished from a difficult angle, the ball crashing in off the far post.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Football Federation released a chart of prize money through its social media accounts on Monday, with the champions slated to get Tk 4 lakh and the runners-up Tk 2.5 lakh. Each of the 11 teams get a chunk of the prize money, which totals Tk 20.5 lakh.