Ekushey Padak for footballers of nat’l women's team: What next?

The announcement could not come at a better time for the national women's team, the reigning champions of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), which defended last year its title it won in 2022. Both the national women's squad and women's football have been making news for all the wrong reasons for sometime now. So, the government announcement of awarding Ekushey Padak 2025 to the national women's team comes as a breath of fresh air in a stifling situation for the girls.

There is no doubt that the women's football itself is a recent phenomenon compared with that of men. But the women players have continued to improve their game fast and their achievements speak for themselves. Unfortunately, with better facilities, opportunities, higher match fees and sufficient patronage from clubs, the men's football in this country is lagging far behind. The girls boast the credit to have defended their title for the first time in the country's football history. They are going to be the worthy recipients of this prestigious Ekushey award.

However the recent developments centring around the players-coach confrontation have cast a shadow of uncertainty not only on the national women's football team but also on women's football in general. The relations between 18 senior players including captain Sabina Khatun and their British coach Peter Butler has long soured and after their refusal to train under him and a complaint made against him in an open letter the face-off is at its most vitriolic. The senior players will opt for leaving the camp and not playing the game at all. Butler also has taken a firm stand making it amply clear that if seven of the senior players were not dropped from the team, he would not stay.

Until the news of honouring the women's team with the Ekushey Padak 2025 award was made public, reports indicated that the committee formed to investigate into the crisis are likely to hold the rebellious girls responsible for the undesirable developments. Even before the SAFF championship which the girl won for the second straight time, there was indication of strained relations between players and the coach. Butler was not the coach when the girls won the title in 2022. He took charge in March 2024 and the championship was held in October the same year. This means the bad blood was created within months.

The SAFF triumph temporarily sent the player-coach rift under the carpet but then it surfaced just before training with the players reporting to the national camp. Intransigence on the part of both the coach and the senior players does not augur well for the country's women football. If this leads to a dramatic slide in the standard of the national team's game and quality of performance, it may end up doing immense harm to women's football overall. Even the Ekushey award, although a powerful incentive, will not be able to compensate for the loss.

Football or any other outdoor game for women is not just a form of sports, it is also an important part of modern and progressive culture that seeks to narrow the gender gap and empower women allowing them social and political space to enjoy. Much as the government may have sent a message through this recognition for the women's team, there are some die-hard ultra-religious groups who would like to banish this game for women from the country. The cultural gulf poses a serious challenge to the promotion of football for girls.

One after another incident of stiff opposition from these reactionary groups has forced cancellation of women's football matches in the country. The latest one that had to be postponed was in Taraganj, Rangpur on Thursday last. Before this, scheduled matches could not similarly kick-off in Akkelpur of Joypurhat and in Hakimpur of Dinajpur last month. In yet another deplorable incident four female members of the under-17 Khulna divisional football team were physically attacked by a group of men for playing football in a field of Tentultala village under Khulna's Batiaghata upazila in July, 2023.

Amid such a gloomy environment, there is a ray of hope, though. The postponed match at Akkelpur could be held on Wesnesday last. But against overwhelming odds, the achievements of the women's national football team cannot be measured in terms of just success. Apart from the two SAFF titles, they have a number of other laurels including the SAFF runners-up in 2016 and eight championships in age-group competitions. If the girls have to terminate their footballing career in such an abrupt way, it is not good for the country's fledgling game. The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) will be watching. More importantly, the country needs to address the cultural chasm posing a threat to women's football.