Eighteen rebel women footballers on Monday signed their central contract with the Bangladesh Football Federation, who had previously revolted against head coach Peter Butler.
Senior players, including national team captain Sabina Khatun, Sanjida Akter, and Maria Manda, have signed a six-month contract, raising the number of contracted players under the BFF from 36 to 54.
鈥楢ll of the remaining 18 players have signed contracts with BFF last week for a six-month period, effective from the day they signed the contracts,鈥� BFF women鈥檚 wing chairman and executive member Mahfuza Akter Kiron told the media on Monday.
Eight of the 18 players have joined the training under coach Butler in the ongoing national camp.
The remaining 10, including Sabina, Maria, Monika Chakma, Masura Parvin, Krishna Rani Sarkar, and Ritu Porna Chakma, are competing in Bhutan鈥檚 Women鈥檚 National League.
Earlier, the rebel players refused to sign the contracts and demanded the resignation of the head coach. The crisis was resolved in late March when the protesting players agreed to rejoin the camp after the Eid-ul-Fitr break.
The rift between the players and Butler started back in October 2024 during their SAFF Women鈥檚 Championship match against Pakistan in Nepal when the coach preferred young players by keeping some senior players on the bench.
The women鈥檚 team is set to play two FIFA friendlies against Jordan and Indonesia, on May 31 and June 3, respectively.
