Dhaka – A 24-member Bangladesh National Under-16 Women’s Football team is due to fly for Japan Tuesday night at 22.15 pm to participate in the J-Green Sakai Lady’s Football Festival billed for Osaka on January 28-29.Bangladesh women’s team, comprising 18 footballers, will play four matches in the festival and a friendly match with a local team.Touring Bangladesh team will start their campaign in Japan taking on Academy Sakai in a friendly match on Jan 26 at 5pm local time.Bangladeshi girls will play three matches on opening day (Jan 28) — against AC Imabari At 9.55 am, Cerezo at 11.45 am and NGU Nagoya FC at 13.35 pm (local time). They will play the remaining match against Amagasaki Ladies on Jan 29 at 9.55 am (local time).Apart from taking part in the J-Green Sakai Lady’s Football Festival, Bangladesh team will also participate in a training camp to gain experiences and improve skills during their ensuing high-profile tour to Japan.Addressing a pre-tour press conference at the BFF House on Monday, team’s Head Coach Golam Rabbani Choton said the biggest objective of the tour would be the exposure of the girls.Noting that Japan is a very strong and highly ranked team in AFC and FIFA, Choton said, “The professional clubs in Japan run top-notch youth development programmes and our girls will have a great opportunity to get the valuable experiences and skills there.”This group of youngsters of Bangladesh women’s team is providing much of its firepower, other than just a handful of veteran players, and the talented girls led Bangladesh to the final of SAFF championship and lost to hosts and holders Indian in a well-fought final.Bangladesh coach said the team is set to start a new journey where they require to train alongside world class players like Japan. “This tour will surely be a learning curve and experience sharing opportunity for the girls rather than a competition.”This trip will give the girls an idea of what they will face at the international level. “Japan and South Korea are in the top of the table of international and age-group women’s football competitions. They are simply the best in the world,” Choton said.He considered the upcoming tour a training opportunity for the girls, who will have to face world class teams like Japan, South Korea, China and Australia in this year’s AFC Championship. “All of these countries play in the World Cup. They will have to face a battle that they have never fought before”, Choton added. UNB
