Defending champions Bangladesh Women's Football team will start campaign in the seven-nation South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women's Championship' 2024, taking on Pakistan in a Group A match in Nepal on Sunday (Oct 20).

The match will kick off at 5:45 pm Bangladesh time at the Dashrath Rangasala (Stadium) in Kathmandu of Nepal.

It will be the first match for Bangladesh in the ongoing meet while the second match for Pakistan, which suffered a 2-5 goal defeat against former champions India in the tournament opener.

Earlier, Bangladesh was placed in three-team Group A of the regional soccer meet with India and Pakistan, while the four-team Group B consists of Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bhutan, and the hosts, Nepal.

Bangladesh, the champions of 2022, will play their remaining group match with five-time champions India on October 23 at the same.

Ahead of Sunday's match, the Bangladesh National Women’s Football team made a hard training session at the St. Xaviers ground on Saturday from 15:30 to 16:30 pm.

Following the day's training, the Bangladesh players underwent an ice bath recovery session to ensure their top form for tomorrow’s game. 

Addressing the pressmen after the day's training session, the head coach of Bangladesh team Peter James Butler and Bangladesh captain Sabina Khatun said they are fully prepared to face Pakistan and  are optimistic to make a successful start in the SAFF Women’s Championship' 2024.

After Friday’s group matches, India dominated Group A, securing a full three points, while Bangladesh and Pakistan remained in the second and third slots, respectively.

Sri Lanka dominated Group B with a full three points, beating the Maldives by a 1-0 goal, while Bhutan played goalless with hosts Nepal to share the 2nd and 3rd slots, respectively, with one point each. 

The Maldives remained at the bottom without any point.