‘It has taken us years to get here’

Gulafsha Ansari, football coach at Don Bosco International school and founder of Dreaming In Slums foundation non-profit, could only afford one hour of weekly football. She now runs coaching camps for underprivileged girls in Dharavi and Santa Cruz. Any hurdle to accessing international tournaments, like the ban, she says, makes it tougher for her to convince parents to let their girls play. Pic/Ashish Raje

She is a striker. And true to her playing position on the field, Sumaiyya Shaikh, 16, has struck out the hurdles that stood between her and football. This includes coaxing her father, the imam of a mosque in Ahmednagar, to allow her to be a sportswoman. The challenge that faces her today, however, is one that she cannot seem to surmount. It involves the government and a top international football body.

The suspension of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) made headlines earlier this month, shocking players and coaches, including members of Gokulam Kerala FC who were on their way to compete at the Asian Football Confederation Women's Club Championship in Uzbekistan. They had to sit out when they learnt of the ban after arriving in Tashkent.

Gulafsha Ansari, football coach at Don Bosco International school and founder of Dreaming In Slums foundation, was concerned about the suspension of AIFF. She says parents of the slum children she coaches would've questioned the logic behind training if there was no apparent future in the sport internationally. It is demoralising for all players, Ansari had said. Pictured here at her home near the fisherman colony in Mahim. Pic/Ashish Raje

On August 16, the bureau of FIFA council "unanimously decided to suspend the AIFF with immediate effect due to undue influence from third parties, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA Statutes". This means that no footballer, official or club from India can participate in international tournaments and training sessions hereon. It also means that international grants sanctioned by FIFA for development of football in India, including funds that sponsor jerseys, astro turf and other infrastructure that's critical to the sport, will stop.

FIFA has clarified that the suspension means the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022, scheduled to take place from October 11 to October 30, 2022, at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, and DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, "cannot currently be held in India as planned." There would have been 24 group stage games. The knock-outs were scheduled to start on October 21.

Bhumika Mane, with her grandparents Draupadi and Ganpat Mane, at their Mahim home. The Manes have been supportive of Bhumika's football dreams

"Mera sapna tha ki main bas India ke liye kheloon, par abhi kuch pata nahin kya hoga," says Shaikh over the telephone from Pune's Krida Pramodhini Athletes' Hostel. Her coach, Prasad Patole, had managed to convince her father to let Shaikh play. And although he agreed, criticism from neighbours made life hell for the family. "During the COVID lockdown, he once cried over this," she remembers.

When perseverance paid off and she was selected to be part of the U-17 India camp held at Bhubaneswar this July, she learnt of the ban. "Most of the girls were sent back. I don't quite know whether I am playing for India. Will I play for India ever again?"

The 16-year-old represented India in the U-17 Women's championships in Italy and Norway this year. She says the suspension on international participation was heartbreaking for young players. Pics/Shadab Khan

FIFA had said in an official statement, the "suspension will be lifted once an order to set up a committee of administrators (CoA) to assume the powers of the AIFF Executive Committee has been repealed and the AIFF administration regains full control of the AIFF's daily affairs".

The Supreme Court took up the matter and on August 22, it directed for full repeal of the CoA mandate, giving back AIFF charge of its daily affairs. On August 23, AIFF Acting General Secretary, Sunando Dhar, requested FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura to "reconsider their decision of suspending the AIFF" in view of the order. FIFA is yet to take the final call.

Bandra-based Yogesh Kadam, who runs a training academy, told mid-day that the ban would've impacted his livelihood

"It is just so demotivating," says Bhumika Mane, 16, a national level footballer and Mahim resident.

Mane had represented India in the 6th Torneo Female Football Tournament in Italy this June and in the Open Nordic Tournament in Norway in July.

Unlike Shaikh, Mane has had the support of her family from day one. Her father, Bharat Mane, a criminal lawyer, also played professional football for Maharashtra Police. She credits her paternal grandparents, Draupadi and Ganpat Mane, for taking her to training sessions when her parents were out at work. "They have watched every match I have played," says Mane, who was the only girl in the Dadar 11 Boys Football Club team for a couple of years, often practicing with male players twice her age.

"Her school didn't have a football field. She had to play and practice on concrete. Most other girls don't even get this. If the suspension continues, their parents are likely to change their minds," worries Bharat Mane. "I feel terrible for the girls of Sree Gokulum Kerala FC," she says disappointed.

On August 17, 21 footballers associated with the Sree Gokulum Kerala FC were grounded at Tashkent airport after FIFA's ban. The team which is the current champion club in women's football was to play at the AFC Women's Club Championship on August 23 at Qarshi, Uzbekistan. Having trained for 60 days straight, they have said they were left disappointed and distressed.

Sumaiyya Shaikh from Ahmednagar district is once again hopeful of her future in the Indian squad

Dhiraj Mishra tells mid-day that the limbo the players are experiencing is not tough to imagine. "Every sportsperson dreams of standing in an international arena, with the Indian national flag with them. While I say this, I have goosebumps. This is what every athlete wants. And this cannot happen while the ban is in place." Mishra is the state football coach at the Directorate of Sports and Youth Services, Government of Maharashtra, and trains the Maharashtra U-17 women's football team.

He says that back in 2004, when women's football was still taking shape in the state, there were only about two or three teams.

Compare this with over a hundred in just Maharashtra today; a majority of them in Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur.

Dhiraj Mishra

While the ban has left upcoming tournaments in limbo, it has also put a stop to future plans. The launch of a league for women on the lines of the Indian Super League (ISL), a top tier men's professional football league, was on the AIFF's agenda. "There was talk of an ISL for women which would've invited players from Korea, Japan, Brazil, etc. That would have given our girls the much required exposure, especially the younger ones," Mishra says.

Mahim resident Gulafsha Ansari, 26, has represented India at FIFA's Football for Hope initiative in Johannesburg in 2010 and at the London Olympics as Junior Ambassador in 2012. She says that football can change your life. It did for her. Apart from being the Personal Social Physical Education (PSPE) teacher and football coach at Don Bosco International school in Matunga, Ansari is founder of Dreaming In A Slum, a foundation that works with underprivileged kids, teaching them life skills through football.

In Bandra, we meet Yogesh Kadam, who plays for the Kenkre Football Club. "Football has given me everything. Thanks to it, I am able to support my family financially. We don't even know if the national leagues will continue," says Kadam, who launched a small football training academy and wonders how that will do if the ban continues.

Ansari was nine when she started playing. Her conservative Muslim family wasn't willing to spend on her training, given that they were struggling to make ends meet. They could allow her only one hour of weekly football. Tradition demanded that Ansari leave home in a salwar kameez and change into shorts once she reached the practice ground at Shivaji Park, in Dadar. "I would play with the boys since there was no special session for girls. They didn't even pass the ball to me. Until I decided to be aggressive. That's when they started taking me seriously. Women's football has received second-rate treatment for the longest time. It has taken us years to get here. And now we are being treated no different by FIFA," she says.

Ansari was just 15 when she started Dreaming In A Slum. All she wanted was to see more children from her community play football. "The door was shut on my face. People made fun of me and talked behind my back. They were suspicious of my intentions. Finally, I managed to get 10 girls to play. I now have 120 girls training across two centres in Dharavi and Santa Cruz. A handful of them are also coaching."

The parents of these players are unaware of the FIFA suspension, Ansari says. "If they knew, they'd question our work. They won't allow their daughters to go out and play if there is no future to the sport." That FIFA is an international body makes the ban a "blot on India's image in the sport. Playing internationally brings with it big clubs, money and fame for the players," Mishra adds.

Chief executive officer at Kenkre Football Club, Joshua Lewis agrees. "Every international league hosted by the country and played by the country, adds to the exposure our women players receive. It's a step towards their empowerment."

Mishra recalls a time when the girls would show up at the field without football kits. "They'd shy away from kicking the ball, turn around when it came their way. With every district level tournament that they have practiced for and played, they have grown. They are improving in technical know how. This ban is a step back."
Shaikh puts on a brave face when she says that they have two months to go before the world cup. "Anything can happen. I hope it will take place in India and I will be on the team."

On Saturday, FIFA lifted the suspension imposed on the AIFF. As a consequence, the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022 scheduled to take place this October in India will be held as planned.

100
Approx. number of women's football teams across Maharashtra

Oct 21
Date the knockouts for FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022 will kick off