While Afeida shines brightly in the limelight, her elder sister Afra Khandokar has been quietly scripting her own story -- one that, until now, has largely remained out of the public eye.

Fresh off their historic qualification for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, many of the Bangladesh women’s footballers have had little time to bask in glory.

If the Bangladesh women's football team had surpassed all expectations by emerging as SAFF champions in 2022, they have completely blown it out of the water in 2025, by qualifying for the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026.

After Bangladesh’s historic qualification for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026, national team captain Afeida Khandokar has urged for improved facilities, including proper nutrition and training grounds, to prepare for bigger targets, including Olympics qualification.

The women in red and green impressed in their tournament opener, holding much higher-ranked Indonesia (94th) to a goalless draw on Saturday. The spirited performance from Bangladesh, ranked 133rd, drew praise from both their captain and head coach.