Salma Akter makes history

Salma Akter used to dream of becoming a journalist when she was in school. Salma from Netrokona is now the first female Bangladeshi referee to make it into the elite panel of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). She was also the first woman to conduct matches in the Bangladesh Premier League and became a FIFA certified assistant referee. Now, she is a part of the AFC elite panel. Two female referees from Bangladesh – Jaya Chakma and Salma – sat for the AFC elite panel exam in Malaysia on 16-19 January. Jaya couldn’t clear the exam, but Salma did. She received the good news on February 20. To pass this test, Salma had to clear five stages – fitness test, written test, oral test, video test and conducting a match. Salma excelled in all departments.