New platform for women’s football: Prothom Alo-Star News WFT 2026 kicks off Saturday

The inaugural Prothom Alo-Star News Women’s Football Tournament 2026 kicks off this Saturday, featuring 36 academy teams from across the country.

The teams have been divided into six groups, with Rangpur, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet, Chittagong and Dhaka staging the preliminary rounds. Eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals and final at the Daffodil University ground from October 25 to 31.

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At Tueday’s draw ceremony at a city hotel, speakers said the tournament would develop women’s football and promote women’s empowerment. Ex-national stars Alfaz Ahmed, Mamunul Islam and Zahid Hasan Emily, reputed coach Golam Rabbani Choton, and U-17 players Alpi Akter and Meghla Rani Roy were among those present.

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Photo: BFF

Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) vice-president Fahad Karim said, “We at the BFF have been struggling to organise the women’s football league every year, and I think this different initiative will strengthen the national team’s pipeline.”

Daffodil University vice chancellor Prof Dr M R Kabir called the tournament a “stage where women can showcase and develop their talent, while also encouraging more women to take up the sport”.

Prothom Alo’s head of sports Utpal Shuvro said the newspaper’s inter-university football tournament had generated considerable interest over the last three years and hoped the women’s tournament would create similar excitement among the academies. He added that Prothom Alo had previously supported Bangladesh women’s football by donating Tk 1 crore to the national team after their first-ever SAFF Women’s Championship title in 2022.

“It is not our main motto to publish sports news; rather, we want to contribute to the development of sports in the country,” said Star News CEO Moksedul Kamal.

Recalling the turbulent period for women’s football in the early 2000s, tournament committee chairman Qumrun Nahar Dana urged everyone’s cooperation to make the tournament a success.