Out of 31 women footballers from the national team, only 13 have so far turned up for the residential camp as of yesterday, with Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) considering staging FIFA friendly matches in the March window.

The residential training camp will be supervised by local coaches, as the local governing body has yet to confirm the reappointment of British coach Peter Butler, who guided Bangladesh to triumph in the SAFF Women's Championship last year.

"Of the 31 players, 13 joined the camp so far [by 5:00 pm yesterday], and others are expected to join by night. However, some players took leave for personal reasons or illness and are expected to join by January 18," BFF general secretary Emran Hossain Tushar told reporters at the BFF House yesterday, further informing that the camp is being held to get the players fit after a long lay-off so that the new coach can assess their fitness.

Asked about Butler, Emran said, "We can only confirm the coach, whether it is Peter Butler or someone new, once the deal is completed, which has not been done yet with anyone."