Every morning when I flip the pages of the daily newspaper, I just hope that there would be some news about women’s football. But sadly, there are none. In India, cricket gets more media coverage as compared to any other sport. We do not even have a proper league for our national sport (Hockey India League came to an end in 2017!). Can you even imagine ISL or Pro Kabaddi League being hosted in Dubai? That hardly seems likely!
The situation in India is even worse for women’s sport (even women’s cricket).
Don’t get me wrong here, I do not want to make it a battle of the sexes or a battle of sports. It is just an attempt to introduce the beautiful world of women’s football to you all! So here are a few women footballers who have shattered many glass ceiling and continue to do so.
VIVIANNE MIEDEMA
Photo courtesy: Daily Cannon
On 18th October 2020, Vivianne Miedema became the Barclays FA Women’s Super-League’s all-time leading goalscorer by scoring 52 goals in 50 games which eventually broke the record of Nikita Parris (49 goals in 110 games). She even scored a hat trick in the North London Derby match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, securing a 6-1 victory over the rivals.
Miedema celebrates her record-breaking goal with teammates- Katie McCabe and Danielle Van de Donk. (Photo courtesy:thefa.com)
The Dutch international is the top goal scorer (both men and women combined) in her country as well, overtaking her childhood role model, Robin van Persie!
Her career began when she started playing for the boys’ team- VV de Weide. She scored 5 goals and provided 2 assists to beat the rivals 7-5! The rivals were a first division club in Holland, the goalkeeper and the two central defenders were devastated. She eventually got an offer from Heerenveen, the professional Dutch football team that had many experienced women players. Her parents had to sign the contract as she wasn’t even an adult when she became part of the club. After spending 3 years in Heerenveen (she even won the top scorer award by scoring 39 goals!), she joined Bayern Munich and steered them to win the Bundesliga in 2014/15 for the first time since 1976.
For her first cap, she just played for 5 minutes in the Dutch National team. For her second national game, she played for only 15 minutes and still managed to score 3 goals. Since then, she has been the part of starting XI squad of the National team.
In 2017, 20-years-old Vivianne Miedema joined Arsenal. It served as a breakthrough in her career and have been scoring goals for the club since then. Even after becoming the top goal scorer in the league, she did not celebrate and directly reported for her national duty. She has mastered the art of keeping calm in the 9-yard box. She watches the videos of all her matches and makes notes to herself to further improve her game. It is pretty impressive to watch her play!
BALA DEVI
Bala Devi is the first Indian women to bag a professional contract from a foreign club. She has signed a three-year contract with Glasgow-based club, Rangers FC. Her sporting career began in 2002 when she was selected to play for Manipur in the National Games. Playing alongside legendary Bembem Devi, she was inspired and motivated to emerge as a better player. The Indian women’s football team forward has scored 52 goals in 58 matches. Before joining Rangers FC, she played for Manipur Police and score a whopping 26 goals in the Indian Women’s League2019. She has also played in Indian clubs like Eastern Sporting Union and KRYPHSA, scoring 42 goals in 47 matches till date. The Indian Women’s League barely lasts for 2 months. With no other source of income for the remaining months, they are forced to take up odd jobs!
Bala Devi during Rangers FC practice session. Photo courtesy: khelnow.com
Bala Devi had decided to stay back in Glasgow, Scotland during the global lockdown. Initially, she felt lonely because the other players went home as they were from nearby areas. She started following the training modules provided by the club to keep herself busy. She even contacted her buddies from the National Team and trained with them over video calls. The coaches even took her for shopping after the lockdown was over. She has been grateful for their constant support and the facilities provided by the club. On 18th October 2020, Bala Devi made her return to the pitch as a second-half substitute, donning the number 10 jersey. Rangers Women FC won their first match 5-1, against Hearts Women FC. She is a very optimistic person. She hopes that ISL clubs will soon start investing in women’s football. She inspires many young footballers to pursue professional football.
SANJU YADAV
Hailing from a small village of Alakhpura of Bhiwani district in Haryana, Sanju Yadav is one of the Best women footballers that India has ever witnessed!
She was introduced to the game by her physical instructor Gordhan Dass at the Government Senior School (Alakhpura) when she was studying in class 5. She had to dodge many difficulties to pursue professional football. The villagers constantly discouraged her to play and rather asked her to focus on household chores. It was her family members who stood by her and turned deaf ears to such villagers and supported her to participate in various district-level and state-level championship. She was elated when she could make it to the U-14 National Team that was set to travel to Sri Lanka.
Sanju Yadav in action for the Indian Women’s Football team. Photo courtesy-Olympic Channel
In 2016, she became the youngest footballer in the senior India team by getting an opportunity to play against Bangladesh in South Asian Games.
The AIFF (All India Football Federation) recognised her hard work by providing her with the Women’s Player of the Year award for the year 2019-20.
She has become a role model in her village. She started her journey with a bamboo ladder for speed drills and bricks as cones. Now, she has encouraged over a hundred girls from her village to undergo proper training under Sonika Bijarnia, the licensed coach appointed by the Haryana government.
NONGMAITHEM RATANBALA DEVI
The AIFF Award for Emerging Women’s footballer for the year 2019-20 was bagged by Ratanbala Devi. Hailing from Manipur, she is the lungs of the Indian Women’s Team midfield! In 2018, she made her international debut at matches in the AFC Cup Qualifiers. She has provided the team with crucial passes and is a serious attacking threat for their rivals. She finds space on the field that nobody would expect.
Ratanbala Devi in action for the Indian Women’s Football team. Photo courtesy- News Abode
TOBIN HEATH AND CHRISTEN PRESS
On 18th October 2020, the US national team veterans Tobin Heath and Christen Press each score their first WSL goals for their club Manchester United in 4-2 victory over West Ham.
Tobin Heath celebrating her first goal for the Red Devils. (via Getty Images)
For the past few matches, they have been made important assists for the Red Devils but could never open their goal-scoring account for the club. Heath scored in the 23rd minute while Christen Press came off the bench to score in the 87th minute.
Christen Press celebrating the goal with her teammate Leah Galton (Via Yahoo Sports)
They had joined the club in September. They even beat out all of their male counterparts in the jersey sales for multiple days after they signed with Manchester United!
NATASHA DOWIE
It isn’t just Zlatan Ibrahimović, who helped seal a win for AC Milan, Natasha Dowie helped AC Milan Women to win the match against Inter by scoring two goals in Series A league. She might even help AC Milan in getting UWCL (UEFA Women's Champions League) debut!
Natasha Dowie after scoring the first goal. (Via Twitter)
She is an English Footballer and advocates for women’s football. Other than playing for AC Milan, she is also undergoing her A licence coaching badge and hopes to pursue her coaching career in the future.
She has played across 5 different countries, amassing a lot of knowledge about the unique techniques and skillsets possessed by different players. She has played for eminent clubs such as Liverpool, Everton, Boston Breakers, Watford, Fulam, Linkoping, Valerenga and Melbourne Victory FC.
Reference: www.arsenal.com, Twitter, Instagram and AIFF
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