Kiron, Maria among Anannya Top Ten award winners

Dhaka, April 8: Mahfuza Akhter Kiron, Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) female representative on the FIFA Council and Chairperson of the BFF Women’s Football committee, and Maria Manda, captain of the National U15 Women’s Team are among the Anannya Top Ten 2017 award winners.

The duo from BFF received their awards titled “Ananya Shirshodash 2017” at a ceremony in the capital’s Bangla Academy on Saturday.

Mahfuza Akhter Kiron and Maria Manda received this year’s Anannya Top Ten awards as organizer and sportsperson respectively.

Maria Manda, the national U15 women’s team captain, led Bangladesh to an unbeaten Championship triumph at the SAAF U15 Women’s Championship 2017 held in Dhaka.

The talented midfielder came to BFF’s radar during the Bangamata Begum Fozilatunnessa Mujib Gold Cup Primary School Football Tournament seven years back.

Maria was called into the Bangladesh national U14 women’s team in 2014.

She was the vice-captain of the U14 team that won the AFC regional championship held in Tajikistan.

Maria also played the role of deputy skipper when Bangladesh raced to an unbeaten championship victory at the AFC U16 Women’s Championship qualifiers in 2016.

On the other hand, BFF Women’s Football committee chairperson Mahfuza Akhter Kiron was elected to FIFA Council from AFC in 2017.

Mahfuza Akhter Kiron being elected to FIFA’s top body bears much significance for the Bangladesh football and total Bangladesh as a whole.

BFF women’s committee president Kiron had been serving on the AFC executive committee when she ran for the reserved female seat on FIFA council from the Asian football body.

The Asian Football Confederation’s congress voted on four FIFA council positions on May 8 where Kiron ran against frontrunner Australia’s Moya Dodd winning with 27 votes to Dodd’s 17.

This is the first time that a Bangladeshi has got into the top FIFA body.

Kiron’s work at the FIFA Council, which governs the global development of football, will impact almost 300 million people actively involved in the game.