Hundreds of conservative Bangladeshi Muslims have staged a demonstration in the capital, protesting the country's first women's soccer league.
"The national sport council will be put under siege for an indefinite period from Saturday if the satanic women's football league is not abandoned immediately," Moulana Abdur Rashid, deputy chief of the Islamic Constitution Movement, told a rally of about 500 activists.
Police kept a close eye on the crowd of protesters who carried placards reading: "Stop un-Islamic activities, protect sanctity of womanhood."
But the Bangladesh Football Federation said it would not be intimidated.
"We hope to complete the tournament as the authorities have pledged to extend total security," said Anwarul Haque, federation general secretary.
The first-ever women's league kicked off on October 4 at Dhaka's newly built Kamalapur stadium.
Authorities were forced to abandon a women's wrestling competition in August after protests by the same radical group in the majority Muslim country.
About 85 percent of Bangladesh's 140 million people are Muslim.