Sreemangal: A Women's Amputee football exhibition match was played in Sreemangal on Tuesday for the first time in the history of Bangladesh. The Purple Team won over the Green Team in a tiebreaker on the day.
The exhibition match was arranged in collaboration with Sports for Hope and Independence (SHI) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Amputee football is a disabled sport usually played with seven players on each team with six outfield players and a goalkeeper.
Outfield players have lower-extremity amputations, and goalkeepers have upper-extremity amputations. Outfield players use loft strand (forearm) crutches and play without their prostheses.
The match was played following a ten-day camp with a view to empower the women with disabilities due to amputation.
Sumaiya Akter Shimu became the player of the match. Winning the trophy, the celebrated player said, "People used to laugh at me after my amputation.
There were times when I even considered suicide to evade the humiliation. Here I found a lot of friends and found a way to play. I am happy now. I used to dream of becoming a footballer but failed to do so for my leg. I got the chance to play football through the SHI camp.