East Bengal Lift SAFF Women’s Club Championship Title

East Bengal FC clinched the title of the inaugural SAFF Women’s Club Championship on Saturday, December 20, with a dominant 3-0 win against hosts APF FC in the summit clash at Dasrath Stadium.

Ugandan striker and two-time IWL top-scorer Fazila Ikwaput (22nd, 46th) scored twice, while India international Shilky Devi Hemam (35th) added another to complete a perfect campaign for the Moshal Girls.

East Bengal thus became the first Indian women’s club to win an international tournament.

Anthony Andrews’ side scored 14 goals and conceded none in their five matches during the tournament.

They had defeated Transport United FC of Bhutan 4-0 (December 8), Karachi City FC of Pakistan 2-0 (December 11), and Nasrin Sports Academy of Bangladesh 7-0 (December 14)

before being held to a 0-0 draw by APF FC of Nepal in the last match of the group stage (December 17).

In the rematch on Saturday, however, the home side were no match for the reigning IWL champions, who found their rhythm from the start, scoring twice in the first half and again moments into the second half, before putting on a strong defensive display towards the end of the game to secure the clean sheet.

(With PTI Inputs)