Women’s football match cancelled in Bangladesh after religious protests | Football News

Students from local religious school vandalise venue set to host women’s match, a day after similar incident in another city.

A women’s football match in Bangladesh has been cancelled after protests by students from a traditional religious school damaged the venue, the second such incident in as many days.

The northwestern city of Joypurhat was due to host a friendly football match on Wednesday between its district women’s team and another from nearby Rangpur, but the venue and its facilities were vandalised, local organisers said.

“The Islamists in our area gathered in a field and marched toward the venue. There were hundreds of them,” tournament organiser Samiul Hasan Emon told the AFP news agency.

“The situation worsened, and we had to cancel today’s event.”

Abu Bakkar Siddique, the headmaster of a local religious school, said he had joined the demonstration with his students and teachers and pupils from several other religious schools.

“Girls football is un-Islamic,” he said. “It is our religious duty to stop anything that goes against our beliefs.”

The incident happened after another match was postponed in the nearby city Dinajpur on Tuesday following a similar demonstration by protesters wielding sticks.

“The match was suspended half an hour before it was supposed to kick off. We had to quickly move the girls to a safer place,” teacher Moniruzzaman Zia told AFP.

Local government officer Amit Roy said four people were injured when protesters and counterdemonstrators lobbed bricks at each other but all had since been discharged from hospital.

Wednesday’s incident was swiftly condemned by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF).

“Football is for everyone, and women have full rights to participate in it,” BFF media manager Sadman Sakib said in a statement.