Dhaka, June 1: It was the U16 team’s brilliant performance that got the board talking. There was the AFC qualifiers, where these girls were undefeated and went through to the final round. There was also the SAFF women’s championship where, once again these girls, powered Bangladesh to their best ever SAFF runner up losing the final to a far more experienced Indian side.
“And I was told that we should do something for these girls in our professional capacity,” said M Monirul Alam, managing director and CEO of Guardian Life Insurance, which will be providing medical and life insurance for Bangladesh’s national U16 women’s team.
“Fitness is naturally very important for sportsmen and we wanted to address that in our capacity as a company,” said the Guardian chief executive.
The insurance agreement covers illness, injury and death of 26 people that also include Sabina, the senior women’s captain, and the two coaches, Golam Rabbani Choton and Mahbubul Alam Litu.
The insurance package will pay up to Tk 1 million for accidental death and Tk 500,000 for death from illnesses. As for injuries, there will be a payout of Tk 250,000 for loss of one limb and Tk 500,000 for loss of two limbs.
Monirul Alam explained that limb could also mean organ since loss of sight or hearing would be considered loss of limb too. He said the medical insurance coverage of Tk 50,000 for outpatient services and up to Tk 300,000 for hospital treatment would prove to be sufficient.
Tapan Chowdhury, managing director of Square Pharmaceuticals and an owner of the Square Group, one of the largest conglomerates of Bangladesh, was apparently very keen to get this through, said Monirul Alam elaborating that Square was one of the sponsors of Guardian Life Insurance.
Mahfuza Akhter Kiron, the head of BFF’s women’s committee, said the girls were really happy with this new deal. “They are just kids and could not really grasp the significance of this deal. But after I explained it to them and what they would be getting out of this, they were very happy.”
Kiron met with the girls the day before BFF was set to sign the deal with Guardian. “Now they can play without fear. They have at least some sort of backup in case of any injury.”
She said the football federation was delighted with this development. “This kind of insurance coverage is absolutely essential but unfortunately the federation does not have enough resources to pay for the premiums.”
This newly elected FIFA Councilwoman said not even the national team enjoyed such coverage. “This is the first time that a team will have this kind of coverage in Bangladesh.”
She said the insurers had themselves went out to look for sponsors. “Since we had no funds to cover the premiums, the insurance company solicited sponsors.”
Guardian chief executive Monirul Alam said the first choice was BRAC — world’s largest NGO and a strong advocate of gender equity. “They agree instantly. We had thought of approaching Square if they declined, but that was not necessary.”
BRAC will paying a premium of Tk 1.2 million per year to Guardian Life Insurance for three years. “That is the deal for now.”
Monirul Alam expressed his gratitude to the federation for letting his company be of such service as well as BRAC for actually footing the bill. “We feel really proud to have stood by the girls. Makes us very happy indeed.”
The U16 team, which also forms the core of Bangladesh’s senior women’s team, is set to play the AFC finals in September in Thailand. The same tournament doubles as the World Cup qualifiers too.
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