Leg-up for ladies' soccer

Germany, the champions in the last two women's soccer World Cups, has offered a helping hand to improve the lot of Calcutta's women footballers, perennially under the shadows of their male counterparts.

"We are ready to do everything in our power to build fruitful bridges between this soccer-crazy city and my country, especially to provide better conditions for the amazingly talented lady footballers of Calcutta," Reiner Schmiedchen, the acting consul-general of Germany in the city, told Metroon Tuesday.

The German consulate office organised a women's football fiesta on its Alipore campus lawns during the day, inviting five players each from the top three clubs in the city's women's league.

The German diplomat, who handed over football gear to the local women players and had a kickabout with them, said: "We will make our foreign office and the sports and youth ministry aware of the huge potential in women's football here and catalyse critical contacts."

The Indian Football Association (IFA), which runs the game in the state, has been requested to prepare a report on what ails ladies' soccer on the Maidan. The German mission office doesn't have "too much funds" to actually invest, but will look to organise coaching clinics with the DfB (the German football federation).

"This is wonderful news for our girls, who have to brave stiff odds like a severe paucity of grounds to train, having to use ill-equipped men's changing rooms and often not having enough to eat after a tough practice session," said Swapan Dutta, the honorary joint assistant secretary of IFA.

For the likes of Jayanti Barua, who turns out for Friends of the Stadium in the local league, the promise of German help was a rare silver lining.

"I have been playing since 1993 and have represented the country so many times, but the maximum I can still earn in a season is around Rs 15,000," lamented the centre-back, who has to support her siblings and parents on her meagre wages.

Things could surely improve with this German handholding, believed Durga Roy, the secretary of GC Roy Memorial Football Club, who has been spending a bulk of her state government job salary on her girls — providing them with kits, food and even shelter to some, to keep the team afloat. "Our girls are fighters and can go a long way with a little push," she said.

"The enthusiasm of these girls is infectious and this little football carnival can hopefully go a long way in raising awareness back home, where most people think India is only about cricket," said Andrea Fischboeck, the German vice-consul in the city.

"We have over 500 women playing in the league and most are from underprivileged backgrounds. The German gesture gives us the impetus to try and raise the standard at the grassroots level in women's football with their technical support," said IFA assistant secretary Dutta.