The Indian National Women’s Football League team qualified for the AFC Asian Cup 2026 to be held in Australia and the under-20 team also qualified for the Asian Cup to be held in Thailand in 2026. Things have started looking brighter for the teams and there is a perceivable transformation in the landscape of the women’s football itself in India. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is also trying to push for women football in a more sustained manner to reach and penetrate more geographical regions in India to popularize the game.
The efforts made by AIFF is also a reflection of the government’s policy to encourage sports and sportsperson to produce and unearth potential Olympic champions. In this endeavour, the government has successfully initiated the Khelo India project, encouraging school students to participate and compete in sports. Achieving Sports Milestone by Inspiring Women Through Action (ASMITA)is a flagship initiative under the overall Khelo India Scheme. The U13 ASMITA Football League 2025-26 officially kicked off in Bengaluru on 27th July and it will subsequently take place across the country. Smt. Raksha Khadse, Minister of State, Youth Affairs and Sports, at the Godavari Engineering College Ground in Jalgaon, Maharashtra said, “This league isn’t just about sports; it’s about breaking barriers.”
Our region has recently been doing well in women’s football. Debanjan Share Girls’ Academy, Kalimpong —the only residential football academy for girls in West Bengal —is leading the way. Three of its players, Palmu Tamang, Sushanna Rai and Supriya Gurung were part of the Bronze Medal-winning Bengal Women’s Football Team in the 38th National Games held at Uttarakhand. One of the academy’s coaches says that the younger girls are even better, pointing towards the brighter prospect of the sport in the hills.
Recently, the girls from Pakhabari High School qualified for the cluster level Subrata Cup and two of their players have been called to attend the selection camp for the West Bengal state team. Girls from Ramakrishna Girls’ High School are also putting up great performances every time. They have frequently been participating at the state level tournaments and one of their players is playing as a professional in the Bhutan League. The girls from our region are doing astonishingly well in football with minimum support and facilities. The schools mentioned above do not even have standard size football field.
Most of the players belong to the lower economic strata and struggle to buy proper kits at times and have to overcome many other existential difficulties. These difficulties and challenges have not stopped them from pursuing the game. Rather with their will and determination and dedication, have transformed the challenges into opportunities. Most of the schools today are encouraging female students to pursue one or the other sport and football has emerged as the most popular sport. There are training centers run by former players and girls are joining these centers. They are being encouraged to play football by their schools and parents. The teachers are negotiating for a reduced fee for their students and at times also bearing the expenses themselves.
The purpose of highlighting this existential reality is to make the point that AIFF has overlooked a potential area for finding talent by excluding Darjeeling as a center for the ASMITA Tournament. This is a significant gap in their thought process. It will become difficult for our girls to participate in a situation where they have to travel a long distance which entails expenditure. The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration and primarily the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Sports Association have to play a pivotal role to ensure, that there is maximum participation from our region and provide an opportunity to the players to participate.
They should negotiate for our teams to participate in the Sikkim leg of the tournament, as this will allow us to participate with girls with a similar physical background and also the climatic conditions, which are so concomitant with the performance level. These two bodies need to act soon and put in place a proper plan and vision for sports development in the region and also raise the awareness of development at the national level, and assist all those who are pushing us to find our space at the national level. Fortunately, for our region, now we have Crispin Chettri as the Head Coach of the Indian Women’s Football team. He can be an inspiration and instrumental in convincing AIFF to have Darjeeling as a center for future such tournaments.
The Government of India has recently introduced the National Sports Governance Bill, 2025, in the Parliament. It is a very well-timed initiative and is synchronous with the efforts being made to produce Olympic champions. The Sports Bill looks at issues of governance and in this endeavour, has envisaged participation from the district level. We have two districts in the hills and if the representatives are selected selflessly then sports in the region can improve and develop immensely. However, Darjeeling and Kalimpong district authorities have to start doing their homework from now onwards. First and foremost, in every possible sports, the regulating body for men’s and women’s sports should be separated. Women members should lead the Women’s Sports bodies. Doing this we will have a greater representation as these members will have a role to play in the decision making process as well, as selection of members of the body at the next higher level. Looking at the unadulterated and profound willingness and dedication of the school teachers, it is a must that they are part of the core members.
Doing this will give immense opportunities to our players and budding talents and also motivate the teachers who are doing everything under their control to encourage and facilitate the girls’ participation in different tournaments. They are buying boots and kits for many of these girls who can ill afford to buy themselves. They are spending money from their pockets and requesting their colleagues to contribute, as the fund allocation for sports in the schools is conspicuously insufficient.
The FIFA Talent Academy is launched in Telangana recently and the purpose is to provide training of the highest quality to girls scouted from across India. This is the most prestigious component of FIFA Talent Development scheme. If league tournaments under the ASMITA scheme is held in Darjeeling it will provide opportunities never experienced before to all the talented girls of our region.
Mesdames Kamala miss from Darjeeling, Sushma miss from Ramakrishna Girl’s High School, Kurseong, and from Kalimpong Girl’s Higher Secondary School, Merina miss, Nirmal Sir from Mirik, Hemant Sir from Pakhabari High School and many more are at the forefront to bring the girls from the kitchen to the field and such opportunities will vindicate their hard work and dedication and further encourage them to serve the game we all love so much selflessly and bring laurels to the region and community. The time has come for the girls to not just play football but also break the patriarchal barriers that have stopped them from breaking the glass ceiling in every sphere of their existence.
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