East Bengal have started their campaign at the SAFF Women’s Club Championship 2025 with a bang. In their opening match on Monday, December 8, 2025, they defeated Bhutan’s Transport United Ladies FC by a dominating 4-0 victory at the Dasharath Rangasala stadium in Kathmandu.
Uganda forward Fazila Ikwaput was named Player of the Match for East Bengal; meanwhile, youngsters Sulanjana Raul and midfielder Resty Nanziri scored one goal each for the team.
Entering into the match, East Bengal brought in the dominance early and setting the pace for players Sulanjana and Soumya. Despite getting plenty of space, they could not find much success, and after 35 minutes, they were close to making a goal with Sulanjana landing on the right flank.
Coming in with the counterattack, next was Soumya, who entered the right flank with some space and making use of that, gave an accurate cross to Fazila, who got her first goal after scoring the net in a clean header. In the opening half, East Bengal had plenty of chances, but the score remained at 1-0 until halftime.
Later, in the second half, East Bengal showed teamwork and secured two more goals in the 60-minute mark, with one each from Sulanjana and Nanziri. With 72nd minute in the game, Sulanjana again showed brilliance with her footwork and managed to cut past her marker and passed the ball to Fazila, who went on to score a brace. India ended their dominant gameplay at 4-0.
East Bengal is currently tied with Nepal’s APF Club at three points. The Indian women’s club will next face Pakistan’s Karachi City for its second group match scheduled on December 11 at the Dasharath Rangasala stadium only.
The Indian Women’s League (IWL) champions make their second international tournament participation this year, following the AFC Women’s Champions League (AWCL), which was their maiden campaign held in November at the Hankou Culture Sports Centre in Wuhan, People’s Republic of China.
In that event, East Bengal lost in their third and final Group B match against Uzbekistan’s PFC Nasaf by a score of 0-3. Despite the defeat, the team made history by becoming the first Indian club to win a group stage match in AWCL. They earlier defeated Iran’s Bam Khatoon FC in the opening match by a score of 3-1.
The SAFF Women’s Championship comprises Federation’s top five-ranked nations. This year, the teams that are participating include East Bengal (India), APF (Nepal), Nasrin Sporting Club (Bangladesh), Transport United (Bhutan), and Karachi City (Pakistan). The teams will compete in a round robin format, with the top two going into the finals.
