Girls from remote villages too can perform in football ………..

We feel encourage to state that the girls from the remote villages of Dumdumi of Chatra Block of
Bankura District are coming forward with the interest of taking part in playing football and some of
them have shown desirable potential.

Adibashi Brojen Sangha is a club formed by the village people with the talented local girls who can
play football. It was 2 years ago when Tania Mudi, a girl of 12 years saw an advertisement of
Football Coaching Camp for girls and requested his father that she would like to get coaching on
football. Then her mother Bharati who was a housewife came forward and tried to give coaching to
the local girls interested in football. The coaching camp started with 16 students two years ago and
now it is just double, i.e., 32. Tania hails from a poor family comprising of her father, Shaktipada
Mudi and two sisters – Keya and Pooja and a brother named Subhajit. Shaktipada works at the
Regional Leprosy Training & Research Institute at Gauripara, Bankura. Keya, 17 years, is a student
of Class-XII in Kamalpur Girls’ High School while Tania (14 yrs.) and Pooja (12 yrs.) are studying
in Class-IX and VII respectively in Priti Kalyan Girls’ High School. Subhajit, the smallest of them
aged around 10 is a student of Class-IV of the local primary school.

When Bharati Devi was asked the reason behind its formation she stated that she tried to show the
entire society that though the girls are often subjected to violence, abuse and discrimination but they
could work as equal as the boys and sometimes even better.

Group Photo of the team members

Saktipada and Bharati both of them provide the tiffin to the girls and the girls give their own money
whatever little they earn from various sources for learning football. Besides, Bharati Devi collects
money from the local people, leaders, community members, and she also forced her husband to
contribute if there is any need of fund.

The team in practise

Recently, coaches from West Bengal Sports Council¸ came for imparting training to the Kridashrees
at Bankura in April, when they made a visit to Dumdumi and they were really satisfied with the girls
and their performance. Mr. Debasish Ghosh, Mr. Amal Modak and Ms. Sandhya Chakraborty was in
the team and they remarked that they could do well if they would provided the opportunities.

They have taken part in PYKKA competition and they secured third place in the state. Two of their
team members, Keya and Krishna Mudi represented the state in the national level held at Bhopal.
When asked Shaktipada stated that it was his earnest desire that these girls would represent the
country one day and people will come to know that these girls who hail from very poor family can
attain such an excellent height provided opportunities are available to them which will also
encourage other rural girls.