Mahfuza Akhter Kiron, head of the Bangladesh Football Federation’s (BFF) women’s wing, announced that the Bangladesh under-20 women’s national team, having secured qualification for the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup on Sunday, will receive a small gift from her as a token of appreciation.

“The federation will decide about the reception, but the players will have a small gift from me,” Kiron told reporters at the BFF House on Monday.

The AFC Women’s Asian Cup is scheduled to take place in Australia in March 2026, followed by the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup in Thailand in April. Like the senior tournament, the U-20 competition offers a pathway to the Women’s World Cup, with Bangladesh needing to reach at least the semifinals to qualify.

With both tournaments occurring around the same time, the BFF is making joint preparations.

“We will sit with Tabith Awal on the 13th August. We will arrange practice matches and training sessions for both teams. I emailed the Japan Football Association again today (Monday). We want to hold a joint camp for both the senior and junior teams,” Kiron said.

Addressing recent concerns over player nutrition, Kiron firmly denied allegations of malnutrition. 

“I do not agree with the claims of malnutrition. The food served in BFF’s dormitory is planned by a nutritionist with a proper diet chart. If the girls don’t eat properly, they won’t have strength. They won’t be able to play 90 minutes. They play the entire 90 minutes with the same rhythm. Do they play without eating? No, we ensure their nutrition. The problems they had since childhood, we cannot fix those,” she concluded.