Dhaka, January 23: The U16 National Women’s Team is looking forward to a week of football in Japan where they will hopefully gain in experience and skill.

The girls’ head coach Golam Rabbani Choton said the biggest takeaway from this tour would be the exposure. He pointed out that Japan was a very strong side highly ranked in FIFA. “Their professional clubs in Japan run top-notch youth development programmes. Our girls will have a great experience there.”

The girls, who have already secured a spot in the AFC finals, will start for Japan on January 24, 2017, where the girls will participate in the J-Green Sakai Women's Football Festival in Osaka.

This group of youngsters currently form the core of the Bangladesh women’s team providing much of its fire power. Other than just a handful of veteran players, it was essentially these girls that led Bangladesh to the finals of SAFF championship only to lose in a well-fought final against India.

Choton said the team was set to embark on a new journey, where they will get to train alongside world class players as Japan is one of the leaders in women’s football.

Other than participating in training camps, the U16 team will also play matches in the J-Green Sakai Women’s Football Festival.

The coach was not looking forward for accolades and victories. As he put it, “This will surely be a learning experience for the girls.”

This trip will give the girls an idea of what they will face at the international level. “Japan and South Korea are at the top of the table of international and age-group women’s football competitions. They are simply the best in the world.”

He said the tour of Japan would be a learning curve for the girls rather than a competition.

Choton considered the upcoming tour more like training since the girls will have to face world class teams like Japan, South Korea, China and Australia in the AFC Championship. “All of these countries play in the World Cup. They will have to fight a battle that they have never fought before.”

The women’s coach also commended Bangladesh Football Federation President (BFF) Kazi Salahuddin for arranging the tour, which is part of the BFF’s development plan.

Golam Rabbani said, the president’s efforts had made this tour possible. “And this will be one of the biggest experiences for the young booters. It will help them prepare for what is to come."

The U16 girls trained in their residency camp for the last day on January 23 before leaving for Japan. Still jubilant with the recent success in SAFF championship in India, the girls are set to leave on January 24.