Kathmandu, Dec. 18 -- The inaugural SAFF Women's Club Championship, which started in Kathmandu between five top clubs of the sub-continent on December 5, marked a new era in South Asian women's football.

"We initiated this tournament to further develop women's football, for which the craze is growing exponentially in the region," said Purushottam Kattel, general secretary at the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).

A former Head of Unit of South Asia at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Kattel assumed the role of SAFF General Secretary on April 1. In less than two months, the South Asian footballing body revealed an ambitious calendar, which also revealed the first edition of the Women's Club Championship.

"We are not a govern...