Bangladesh women's football team lands in Japan for Asian Games

Bangladesh's women's football team have become the first among the country's Asian Games contingent to arrive in Japan, landing in Nagoya on Friday, after completing preparations in Guangzhou, China.

The squad had spent more than a week in China undergoing a conditioning camp and playing two warm up matches, before travelling on to Japan ahead of their opening fixture on September 14, five days before the Games officially open.

Maria Manda, Ritu Porna Chakma and their teammates touched down in Nagoya at around 9pm local time on Friday, where they stayed briefly to complete the formalities required to activate their Asian Games accreditation cards.

With women's football matches at this year's tournament being staged in Osaka, the team then travelled onward by road to the host city, having first needed to process their accreditation in Nagoya upon arrival.

The build up was not without setback, however, with defender Nabiran Khatun picking up an injury during a preparation match in Guangzhou that will rule her out of the Games entirely.

Though she has still travelled with the squad, the Bangladesh Football Federation is working to bring in a replacement player from Dhaka.

Head coach Peter Butler has urged his side to remain realistic despite the team's growing consistency in recent competitions, aware of the challenge posed by their group at this year's tournament.

Bangladesh have been drawn in Group F alongside Asian heavyweights North Korea and South Korea, as well as Myanmar, a section widely regarded as one of the more demanding in the women's football draw.

This marks Bangladesh's second appearance at the Asian Games women's football event, having made their debut at the 2023 Hangzhou Games.

Bangladesh will compete across 22 disciplines at this year's tournament, being jointly hosted in Japan's Nagoya and Aichi regions, spanning archery, athletics, boxing, badminton, cricket, cycling, women's football, fencing, gymnastics, golf, hockey, judo, kabaddi, karate, shooting, surfing, swimming, table tennis, beach volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu.

Bangladesh women's football schedule:

September 14: Bangladesh v North Korea

September 17: Bangladesh v South Korea

September 21: Bangladesh v Myanmar