A generic trend in India suggests that parents of most girl child feel apprehensive to take part in any sort of sporting activity, let alone football.
Not the people of Shondanga, a remote village near Nabadwip in West Bengal.
All credit goes to Bhupendranath Pal, a retired Banker and an avid football enthusiast who made an effort to bring in girls to the football field defying all prejudices two years back.
Since then, a project which started with just four young nervous girls has grown from strength to strength to gather fifty-six youngsters within less than two years – all in an endeavour to take Indian Football forward together!
?I always wanted to use football as a tool to have a sociological impact. Thanks to All India Football Federation, the Golden Baby Leagues have presented us with a perfect opportunity to make a strong connection with every single person in our society. That?s why I strongly felt to introduce football to our locality, especially to the younger girls,? Pal stated.
The AIFF D-license holder shared a never-heard-before tale with www.the-aiff.com while discussing Nabadwip Golden Baby Leagues which has already introduced more than 1,000 kids in two years.
?One day, while I was training a few kids, I oversaw four young girls gazing at us and enjoying the game. I asked them whether they were interested to join us. But they felt shy and ran away,? he continued, ?After 15-20 minutes they came back and that?s when the girls? league saw the daylight – just with four girls. They kept on coming as found the zeal. They found a purpose. We inspired them and the leap of faith played a big role behind expanding the league. Now fifty-six girls are playing in that league.?
There are five age-group leagues for girls of U-7 to U-10 and U-14. Whereas three teams comprising of seven players apiece contest the U-14 age-group, five teams of seven players each are enrolled in the other age-groups.
?Earlier parents were sceptical about sending them to play football. What I realised ? if they find the personal touch and sense of security they don?t think twice to allow their wards. That?s a big lesson I learnt from these families, who don?t belong to well-to-do families but endure the struggle 24/7, called life.
In 2017-18, 600-odd kids participated in four age-groups. 23 teams enrolled in the U-13 age-group alone. Apart from that, kids of age-groups U-7, U-9 and U-10 also hit the ground to make the project a grand success.
Next year, the participation of girls spiralled significantly, taking it to 25% of the total enrolment cumulatively.
?We concentrated on four age-groups U-8, U-9, U-11 and U-12 in 2019-20. Out of 450-odd kids, more than 120 were girls. For a locality like ours, that was hugely motivational for parents as well as girls who aspire to bend it like Balas and Ashalatas in the future.”
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here
Comments
0 comment