Sports Desk:

The Bangladesh national women’s football team left Dhaka on Tuesday morning for Bangkok, where they will face Thailand in two international friendly matches.

The squad took off from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 11:15 am on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight.

These fixtures are part of Bangladesh’s ongoing preparations for next year’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia.

Head coach Peter Butler emphasised the importance of facing stronger opposition, noting that these matches are about building experience and performance rather than solely chasing results.

“You can’t go there with a win-at-all-cost mentality,” Butler said during a press conference at the BFF House on Monday. “You have to be realistic and put things in context of what you want from that game.”

Bangladesh will face Thailand, currently ranked 51 places above them, on October 24 and 27. Despite the ranking gap, Thailand had not qualified for the upcoming Asian Cup, providing a competitive yet realistic challenge for the women in red and green.

Preparations began three weeks ago at KEPZ in Chittagong, before the team returned to Dhaka on Friday. Nine players who had been active in Bhutan’s domestic league joined the squad upon their return.

“We covered a lot of ground and built strong team spirit,” Butler said, while also ensuring that players weren’t “overcooked” during the intense camp. “What I want is a competitive performance. I want to see players performing at the international level, especially the nine girls from Bhutan.”

Looking ahead, Butler reiterated his desire to test Bangladesh against stronger international opposition. “Club sides in Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong are not strong enough,” he said. “We want international fixtures against teams like Azerbaijan or Iran, and ideally, state teams in Australia to give our players the step-up they need.”