SAFF-winning women's team returns home, heads to BFF in an open-top bus

Bangladesh has claimed the SAFF Women's Championship title for the second consecutive time by defeating Nepal.

Following this victory, Sabina Khatun, Rituparna Chakma, and the rest of the team returned home on Thursday afternoon.

Head coach Peter Butler and captain Sabina Khatun spoke to the media at the airport. From there, the women's team boarded an open-top bus headed for the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) headquarters. The bus departed for BFF around 4 pm, with the players standing and waving back to the enthusiastic fans who had gathered to celebrate their success.

BFF's new president, Tabith Awal, and sports advisor, Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, awaited the team at the BFF building to officially welcome them. The team is to be honoured there, and both the coach and the captain are set to speak to the media afterward.

In 2022, Bangladesh's women's team tasted their first SAFF Championship victory, also by defeating Nepal. At the time, an open-top bus parade was arranged, though it hadn't initially been planned by the BFF. That arrangement was inspired by a Facebook post from midfielder Sanjida Akter, leading to preparations for the celebratory bus. This year, the players themselves reminded organisers of the tradition.

The team's flight was initially scheduled to arrive at 2:15 pm, though it landed slightly later. Well before their arrival, the open-top bus had already been brought to the airport and was decorated with flowers from around 12:45 pm. Several BFF officials were at the airport to receive the champions. Although last time a large number of fans had gathered to greet Sabina and her team, the crowd was smaller this time.