Year-long plan for U-16 womens team

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) yesterday revealed a year-long plan for the under-16 women's team as a part of preparation for the final round of the AFC U-16 Women's Championship, which is scheduled to be held in Thailand from September 9 to 23 in 2017.

The plan includes a year-long residential camp with 28 players under head coach Golam Rabbani Choton and other coaching staff which will later be reinforced with the inclusion of a physical trainer, a goalkeeping coach and a female physiotherapist.

The plan also includes providing the girls monthly allowance as well as teachers at the BFF dormitory to help continue their studies; arranging five to six international friendly matches in the next one year, and parents' days after every one-and-a-half months.

The plan was disclosed by women's football committee chairman Mahfuza Akter Kiron after an emergency meeting of the BFF executive committee.

“The BFF will bear the expense of food, accommodation, clothing, education and maintain nutrition of the girls as they will stay here for one year. We will also invite the parents to meet their daughters in every one-and-a-half month at the dormitory. We also have a plan to allow the girls a weak-long vacation in every three to four months,” said Kiran during a media briefing yesterday.

“BFF president Kazi Salahuddin is optimistic about fruitful accomplishment of the plan, which was finalised after consultations with the women's committee, national teams' committee, executive committee and coaching staff of the women's team,” said BFF president Kazi Salahuddin at a press briefing after the meeting.

Even though there is a strong opinion in the footballing circle about appointing a technically sound coach for the U-16 women's team in a bid to fight against the top Asian teams such as Japan, China, Australia and Korea, the game's governing body is seemingly banking on the experience of Choton and the rest of the coaching staff.

“We just need to improve the strength of the girls so that they can fight against big teams and I think this plan will work and improve the girls,” opined Salahuddin.

“I think there are no loopholes in this plan. I had a meeting with women's committee and coaching staff and asked them to take help from technical director [Paul Smalley] to revise the plan if needed.” 

Salahuddin also informed that they will provide a monthly allowance to each of the girls for one year and that the allowance would be more [on average Tk 10,000] than the the players of the national men's team have previously received.

Meanwhile, all the 23 players, who were part of the squad which won the group phase of the AFC U-16 Women's Championship Qualifiers earlier this month, reported to the BFF House during the morning. They will start camp from tomorrow, and there will be only one session each day for the time being as the players went through rigorous training sessions in the past two months ahead of the qualifiers.