The buzz of children milling about the grounds, parents cheering vociferously, ecstatic ‘dab’ celebrations, smiles, laughter and an irresistible sense of camaraderie – all brought together because of the opportunity to play good, competitive football in a safe environment. That’s what the Tata Tiago School Football Championship (SFC) has made possible over the past two years for children across India.
Children celebrating their victory at SFC 2017
Nothing much happened in the village of Merpur on the outskirts of Udaipur, Rajasthan. It was a quiet hamlet where school boys would play during lunch breaks while the girls wandered about. Worse still, the girls were extremely diffident, hesitant to speak and low on confidence. Rather than talking about studies and sports, girls as young as 14 would discuss marriage and some of their friends who were getting pregnant. That was until Padmini V, recipient of a 13-month SBI Youth for India Fellowship, showed up in town.
With the help of Laduram, the village sarpanch and Rohit Pandya, a physical trainer from Udaipur, Padmini has begun to use football to break gender stereotypes, give the girls an outlet to express themselves constructively, get fit and, most importantly, develop a sense of self-belief, confidence and direction.
Introducing Merpur Girls to Football
Source: Youth Ki Awaaz
Read more about Padmini’s excellent work here on Youth Ki Awaaz.
If you’re not a woman living in India, you might not truly understand what odds a girl has to beat to step out of the house wearing shorts and a tee to play football. It’s even worse if you come from economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods where men will gape at you like it’s the first time they’ve seen human female form.
Every step on the journey to the football field is an adventure – you may come across the odd creep trying to cop a feel, a time-waster who merely follows you to where you’re going, or just the normal, everyday lech who dots the streets of India. No doubt, it’s important to remember not all Indian men are depraved, but the sad truth is that the instances we’ve just mentioned are a nuisance that girls and women have to deal with on a regular basis here.
Source: Step Up Step Out on Vimeo
This Women’s Day, we’re delighted to show you how organizations like Youth Football International, United Women Football Club (Faridabad) and Butterflies located in and around India’s capital, New Delhi, are bringing more young girls out to play football, express themselves and just have fun while they stay fit and learn new skills. It’s the least they deserve. Happy Women’s Day! Because girls, it’s time to step up, it’s time to step out.
Step Up Step Out from Arpita Sinha on Vimeo.
In December 2015, Rural Development Trust’s (RDT) Anantapur Sports Academy (ASA) kicked off the first ever Anantapur Football League (AFL) for girls. Although the Girls AFL came to an end in the first week of February 2016, the initiative has given girls and young women in Anantapur a definitive and bright future in football in India.
In the group stages, each team had to play six games, with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the knock-out round to be played at ASA’s Anantapur Sports Village (ASV). The knock-out stage was scheduled in such a way, that the matches ended well before the athletes needed to prepare for their end-of-year exams. This meant that the players, their parents, coaches, and team managers could focus enough attention on the sport, without having to constantly worry about exam woes.
Action from the 1st AFL Girls Final between Atmakur & Kalyandurg
Source: ASA
In great news for girls football, US-based Goals for Girls (G4G), an organisation that involves girls helping girls through football, will be visiting New Delhi from 5-8 January, 2016. Organised by Anglian Football, India will be hosting its 2nd Goal for Girls Summit this year.
During the summit, 18 girls from Triangle United in Chapel Hill, North Carolina will spend time with over 160 girls from across India over a 4-day leadership program. To be conducted at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi, G4G will utilise the summit to spread the passion for the game among girls while using football as a medium to develop life skills that will help participants on and off the pitch. The broad idea is to give the girls who come from various backgrounds a voice and a self-defined identity.
Contributed by Maxon Sequeira
Rural Development Trust’s (RDT) Anantapur Sports Village (ASV) could still hear blissful echoes of the 2015 Andhra Pradesh Junior Women’s Hockey State Championship from the preceding weekend. Women’s sport in Anantapur got another boost as the Anantapur Football League (AFL) 2015 officials decided to start the first ever Anantapur Football League for Girls towards the end of the first leg of the 2015 AFL.
The AFL 2015 officials organized a meeting with all the Anantapur Sports Academy (ASA) mandals to finalize guidelines and rules for the Girls AFL that shall kick off its inaugural season towards the end of this year. The ASA, through this meeting also assessed each mandal’s contribution towards the AFL, in terms of participants and officials. This would also ascertain the way ahead for the Girls AFL.
Indi Cowie
Image Courtesy: Indi Cowie on Twitter
With all eyes on the launch of ISL 2 on October 3rd, the time has come for Indian sports fans to switch channels from the-c-sport-that-cannot-be-mentioned to football. Yes, the ISL may have a limited impact at the grassroots level currently, but it is a nascent 3.5 month tournament that has certainly brought football to the forefront of the nation’s consciousness.
In keeping with this trend, the Mumbai Mirror, part of the larger Times of India group of publications, has joined hands with Western India Football Association (WIFA) and Mumbai School Sports Association (MSSA) to launch a unique tournament called the Mirror Girls Soccer League. To be played over two weekends in October at the Cooperage 5-a-side pitches in Mumbai, the Mirror Girls Soccer League comprises three categories; Under-14, Under-16 and Open/Free Age. Matches will be 5-a-side with 4 substitutes with rolling substitutions.
Given that this is targeted at a demographic starved of quality competition locally, it is definitely an initiative that will give a massive fillip for girls football in Mumbai, Maharashtra and even other cities in India. We hope that the Mirror Girls Soccer League is a massive success! Spread the word and let’s get as many girls to be part of the tournament!
Here is a quick snapshot of the tournament details & how you can participate:
Dates: 10-11 & 17-18 October, 2015
Venue: Cooperage 5-a-side pitches, Churchgate
Format: 5-a-side with 4 substitutes (rolling subs)
Categories: U14, U16 & Open/Free Age
Last Date for Registration: 1st October, 2015
To register, write to themirrorbrand@gmail.com or call MSSA on 022 22693974 or 22620400.
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