Bangladesh Women’s Football’s First Chapter Belongs to Sabina

The familiar smile, the instinctive finish, the celebration with arms outstretched — whether on a full-sized football pitch or the compact court of futsal, Sabina Khatun remains unmistakably the same. The differences between football and futsal are substantial: the length of the field, the number of players, the tempo and even the rules. Yet Sabina’s influence transcends format. Four years after dazzling South Asia with her goals at the 2022 SAFF Women’s Football Championship, she has replicated that authority in futsal, once again placing Bangladesh at the summit.

Wearing the captain’s armband, the forward from Satkhira led by example as Bangladesh clinched their maiden SAFF Women’s Futsal title, crushing Maldives 14–2 in the final match of the tournament. Sabina’s contribution was emphatic. She scored consistently, inspired teammates and finished the competition as the leading scorer with 14 goals — a remarkable feat in a discipline she formally entered only recently.

Whenever Bangladesh women’s football speaks of “firsts”, Sabina’s name inevitably follows. The national team’s most significant achievements so far — two SAFF titles and two bronze medals at the South Asian Games — all bear her imprint. The breakthrough came in 2022 in Nepal, when Bangladesh lifted the SAFF Women’s Championship trophy for the first time. Sabina, captaining the side, scored eight goals, earned the Golden Boot and was named the tournament’s best player.

Her legacy of firsts stretches further back. At the 2010 South Asian Games, Bangladesh’s women won their first-ever international medal. The decisive moment came against Pakistan, when Sabina scored in front of a home crowd in Dhaka to secure bronze. That same tournament also marked another milestone: Bangladesh’s first official international women’s football match, against Nepal — with Sabina in the starting line-up.

Despite such credentials, Sabina has been absent from the national football team since October 2024 following a dispute with head coach Peter Butler. Citing fitness and performance benchmarks, the coaching staff left her out of selection. Yet exclusion from football did not signal the end of her career. Sabina continued playing in the Bhutan Women’s League before earning her place in the national futsal squad through open trials. At the SAFF Women’s Futsal Championship, she reinvented herself once more, proving her enduring value.

Her dual success has drawn praise from Bangladesh Football Federation president Tabith Awal, who described Sabina as a rare sporting figure capable of leading the country to titles in two distinct formats of the game.

The contrast between football and futsal further elevates the achievement. Bangladesh played their first women’s international football match in 2010 but had to wait until 2022 for a SAFF title. Women’s futsal began in 2018, stalled for six years, and returned only last December — yet within months, Bangladesh emerged champions in Bangkok. At the heart of that rapid ascent stood Sabina.

Key Milestones in Sabina Khatun’s Career

In football or futsal, history seems to follow Sabina Khatun. Each trophy adds another chapter to a career defined not merely by goals, but by being first where it matters most.