The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) will collaborate with global football governing body FIFA to further promote women’s football. FIFA’s initiative, called Empower Her, aims to engage six million female footballers worldwide, with BFF providing support for the programme in Bangladesh.
The Empower Her project was formally launched at an event attended by Rituporna and Afidara. Speaking at the event on Monday (10 November), Simon Anthony, FIFA’s Head of Women’s Football Development for Asia, outlined the organisation’s objectives for the 2025–2028 period. Among the key goals are increasing global female participation in football and raising the number of female coaches.
Anthony said, “Our survey revealed that, across male and female leagues combined, women make up only 22 per cent of coaches. Over the next four years, we aim to significantly increase this number. As the Asian head, I travel to each country to assess and promote women’s football. Bangladesh has achieved considerable success recently, which is why I came personally to share FIFA’s goals with all football stakeholders here, so we can advance women’s football together with BFF.”
BFF President Tabith Awal welcomed FIFA’s initiative, highlighting the need to expand the number of women’s football clubs and ensure regular leagues.
He said, “The number of women’s clubs in our country is low. We will work to expand domestic leagues and provide more opportunities and resources for female players. FIFA will support us both technically and financially.”
Awal added, “Our commitment goes beyond improving the standard of play. We will also support women players in facing societal challenges. Many female athletes are victims of cyberbullying, and where necessary, we will take legal action to protect them.”