Janki Devi Colleges driveway where the on-going youth soccer trials for girls are being held has sedans,SUVs and a white car with red beacons. While almost 90 girls trickle in for the trials each day,the largest number in recent times,only a couple of them have come from backgrounds that cannot be term privileged. Nagendra,the coach in-charge says we have already sent the announcements in the papers,but children who are studying in government schools almost never show up. A glance at the register which he maintains on the players shows Frank Anthony,Vasant Valley,Ryan and Sanskriti repeated several times under the column for schools. Nagendra who has been taking camps for both boys and girls for several years now and is also the coach of the Hans FC the first Delhi club to introduce football for women says the problem is with gender attitudes. While a boy from a poor family still has some chance of finding out about camps or sports from his friends,for a girl from a similar family it is far more difficult. I call every coach,every school I can,but the response isnt that encouraging. Contrary to what supporters of the game assert,football is not an inexpensive game. Boots start at a shade under Rs1,000 while shin guards and gloves also have to be bought. The other concern for bad turnouts could be that players have to be sent from across the city. Ajay Nayar watches dotingly from the sidelines as his daughter Arushi a student of Carmel Convent competes for the ball along with several others. I had to make the journey from Gurgaon,but its worth it. A coach who did not wish to be named says that parents encourage their daughters sporting ambition to get into a Delhi squad. Once national certificates are procured and admission under the sports quota to a prestigious college is obtained,the game is forgotten. However Ajay,the owner of an automobile spare parts business denies any hidden motivation,saying I will support my daughter as long as she wants to play. Mukesh the father of another player,14 year old Devina has gone a step further. After finding out his daughters desire to play the sport,he went ahead and bought a treadmill for her. It doesnt matter what she wants to do. All I want is that she puts all her effort into it. Overhearing coach Nagendra saying that the girls lack stamina and power,Mukesh went ahead and bought a 10 kilo sack of Mega-Mass for Devina. The coaches feel that they have to make their coaching styles palatable to their girl wards. Nagendra says selecting a girls team is mandatory according to FIFA rules. While coaching the boys team,I will shout and swear at them to make them understand a point. If I do the same here they probably wont come back the next day. And he sticks to his word and remains subdued in explaining to a player who has left her position on the field why she must not do that and has to explain her the same thing again,a few minutes later. Tomorrow I will probably do the same thing, he says with a sigh of resignation.
