The Indian women’s football team has not had the desired growth in the last decade or so, largely due to the lukewarm support from the National Federation (AIFF) and the media.
India’s head coach Sajid Yousuf Dhar and captain Bembem Devi attributed the plight to the lack of domestic tournaments and exposure abroad, at a press conference ahead of the football competition for the 12th South Asian Games at a city hotel here on Thursday.
The last International tournament India competed in was the first round of the Asian Qualifiers for the Rio Olympics in Mandalay (Myanmar) in March 2015.
“We beat Sri Lanka but lost to Myanmar and bowed out in the first round in Myanmar; Bahrain withdrew from the tournament. After that we are taking part in the SAG. We don’t have many competitions,” said Sajid.
As the defending champion, Sajid said the team is ready for the battles ahead. “We have been training here for the last two weeks. Preparations have been good. We are looking forward to the best result. Being the first tournament of the season, this means a lot to us,” said Sajid. “We know that all eyes are on us and we will not let the people down.”
On taking on Maldives in its first match on Friday, Sajid said he would like to take it one match at a time. “We respect all opposition,” he said. Bembem said the team has played hardly two tournaments a year since her debut in 1995. Her dream was to see an I-League take shape for women, she said.
Speaking on behalf of the South Asian nations, the Bangladesh coach Golam Robbani Chotan said, “We hope FIFA has some plans for women’s football, which is always neglected. It is 85 per cent for men and 15 per cent for women,” he said.
Maldives’s Japanese coach Naoko Kawamoto said the team has improved technically since she took over, but the conditions will definitely affect the team’s performance.
