Bangladesh forward Sanjida Akhter made her debut in the Indian Women's League for East Bengal FC in a match against Odisha FC on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old made history as she became the first Bangladesh player to represent the club but couldn't mark the occasion with a win as the match ended in a goalless draw.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh women's football team captain Sabina Khatun is playing in the ongoing IWL for Kickstart FC. East Bengal will face Kickstart FC in the IWL on February 5, where Sabina and Sanjida will rival each other.
Footballers from Bangladesh played in East Bengal in 1986. Wasim Iqbal and Sheikh Mohammad Aslam joined East Bengal and played in the Durant Cup.
On the other hand, strikers and defenders from Bangladesh, Monem Munna, Aslam, Gaus, and Rumi, played in 1991 for the Indian club. Monem Munna played a vital role in clinching the trophy for East Bengal in ’92 and ’93.
Sanjida’s team, East Bengal, failed to win against Sports Odisah. They drew goalless at their home ground. Odisha pressured East Bengal at the dying minute of the encounter.
Sanjida played the full 90 minutes of the match. East Bengal Coach Dipankar Biswas praised her.
He said, “We can’t win the match because our strikers failed to enter the box."
Sanjida said, “Football is a team game, so everyone has to perform on the ground."
“I played my natural game. My teammates praised me. They are very friendly,” said Sanjida.
East Bengal won over Sports Odisha by 2-0 goals at the capital football arena in Bhubaneswar on December 10, 2023.
After these outings, the Kolkata-based team lost all five matches in a row. They are now in sixth place out of seven and have collected only three points from six matches. East Bengal suffered a big defeat against Gokulam Kerala by 4-0 goals on January 23.
