Beacon of Light: How FC Goa Women's team is paving the way forward for Indian Super League clubs

British sportswriter David Goldblatt once penned down that "Football is truly the most extraordinary lens on society." On the eve of International Women's Day, football fanatics across India quite deservedly celebrated in unison the triumph of Jamshedpur FC in the Indian Super League.

However, silenced by those cheers was the plight of the women footballers in the country who have been denied a national footballing league for the past two years. While men's football has resumed in full throttle, the women's league has been halted in the name of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Call it misfortune or mismanagement, the Indian women's national team was also denied the opportunity to have a fair run in the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup, owing to a COVID outbreak in their camp.

While the ISL is in full swing, with all the glitz and glamor involved, not even half of the eleven clubs involved have a women's team. All fingers quite unequivocally point towards a lack of infrasture and disregard for women's football in India.

FC Pune City were the first ISL club to have a women's team playing in the Indian Women's League (IWL) but it now stands defunct. Meanwhile, SC East Bengal relaunched their women's team in 2019, but it was disbanded again owing to a tussle between club officials and the investor group Shree Cement. Bengaluru FC launched their age-group women's team in 2021 but have yet to start their professional journey.

Hence, it leaves FC Goa as the only ISL club to have a professional women's team. When the Gaurs established their women's team in 2018, no other active ISL club pursued a similar venture.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Ishita Godinho, Forca Goa Foundation's Community Development and Communications Manager, opened up about the FC Goa women's team, their journey so far and their roadmap for the future.

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"We all wanted to do this for Goa, for football, for women" - Ishita Godinho on the motivation behind forming the FC Goa women's team

Goa has been at the forefront of Indian football and its development for years now. Through FC Goa, the state only solidified its imprint in the history of the game.

Hence, it didn't come as a surprise when Ishita Godinho said that the club weren't influenced by any external factors to initiate their women's setup. The club wanted to do this for football in Goa and women.

"There was no pressure or external factor that inspired us to form the Women's team, we had already started training young girls at our centres and were conceptualizing an all-girls league as part of our Little Gaurs League. On receiving a notice from the Goa Football Assositaon for Women’s team participation, I spoke to my President and the technical team," Ishita said.

She added:

"It was a no-brainer, we all wanted to do this for Goa, for football, for women, but if we were doing it, we had to do it the right away. We had several meetings to discuss logistics, staffing and the way forward. I took responsibility to lead the team with the support of all the other staff and coaches from FC Goa."

The FC Goa Women's team took shape almost four years ago. Ishita spoke about the long-term vision that the club has around their women's team and women's football in India in general.

She added that head coach Derrick Pereira is also personally interested and invested in the setup.

"Coach Derrick Pereira took personal interest in the Women's team. The team discusses the Women’s team the same way we discuss our development team and other teams. Our long-term vision is to have age group level teams and keep them in our system. For this, it is imperative to have more leagues and competitions for girls to play competitively."

Even with all its follies, the Indian Super League has added a lot of glitz and glamor to Indian football, giving the players a regular platform to perform. Will a rendition of the ISL benefit women's football in India?

Ishita certainly feels so.

"Yes, I feel that a league such as the ISL needs to encourage and promote women's football. There is a lot of talent in our country but lack of seriousness from clubs and academies. A lot of female footballers give up on football since it is not a viable career option."

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"The management is very clear about how they want to grow with the women's team" - FC Goa goalkeeper Josline D'Souza

FC Goa shot-stopper Josline D'Souza in action. (Image Courtesy: FC Goa)

"Not a viable career option."

Sportskeeda recently sat down with FC Goa women's team goalkeeper Josline D'Souza for an exclusive interview.

The former Parikrama FC shot-stopper started playing at the age of 10 and has been playing football for 16 years now.

During the conversation, Josline made quite a thought-provoking statement. Asked if she had the support of her family members in the initial years of her career, the FC Goa numero uno remarked that they weren't supportive.

But her parents never stopped her from playing as they felt this was only a hobby. They probably felt football won't be a "viable career option" for their daughter.

So how did Josline find her way into football? Well, the FC Goa goalkeeper said she was very lucky to have a high school physical education teacher who wanted to involve the girls and start a football team. But she knew very little about the prospect of getting into the footballing world then.

"When I started, there wasn't much coverage of women's football. In fact, when I started playing, I didn't even know there was some future in football. I didn't know what was the nationals or whether girls could play for India," she said.

But now, after 16 years, Josline is living the footballer's life to the fullest. She earned her first Indian national team at the age of 11 but lack of competition at the local level thwarted her progress.

However, she believes things have changed a lot now. There's more exposure and coverage which allows the young aspirants to have a clearer picture.

"In terms of coverage, in terms of giving education to children, it's become a lot better. If you ask these children now, they know what kind of level they are at. If you look at some of the players at the grassroots level, they also know what they want to become. They have more clarity in terms of what they can do in sports. For us, it was not like that," Josline said.

Josline was part of the FC Goa Women's Team (then known as Goan FC) right from its formation years in 2018. She left for a brief stint at Parikrama FC in the Karnataka Women’s League last season but has rejoined the Gaurs setup.

When it comes to the bigger picture of women's football in India, for Josline, how is FC Goa playing a part in developing that?

She said:

"I think right now FC Goa right is the best club to play for every age-group. They have everything sorted. The management is very good, and so is the footballing structure and the playing style. My first spell with FC Goa improved me as a player as I learnt a lot from the coaches. So I chose to return to the club."

Asked how the management sees the future of the club and if it aligns with her own ambitions, Josline said:

"The management is very clear about how they want to grow with the women's team. We are very keen to participate in the IWL. If we qualify for the league, it'll be a massive step for the players and also the club. I haven't seen many clubs quite as professional as FC Goa."

Along with representing FC Goa, Josline is making her living as a goalkeeping coach at the grassroots level and as a state referee. The FC Goa shot-stopper stressed the importance of developing female coaches in India.

"In the past, we had very few female coaches. But for us young girls, it would be a bit of a problem having only male coaches traveling with us.

She added:

"Obviously, it's not that male coaches are not suitable, but it would have been more comfortable for us to have some female figures around us. Having women around us automatically makes us feel a lot more empowered. Having more female coaches around has also given young girls a role model to follow."

As the 26-year-old puts it, the fight is not only about bringing up more female players but also about having more women in senior footballing positions. It will give the young girls hope and inspiration for a better future.

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FC Goa lays down a roadmap for their women's team

The road ahead for women's football in India is simple but requires a lot of tenacity. What FC Goa have currently achieved is just the start. However, very few ISL clubs are ready for that discussion, let alone walking down that road. Hence, the Gaurs must be lauded.

Why do more ISL clubs need to incorporate a women's team? Hear from Josline herself.

"As ISL clubs, these teams have already established a style of play and have academies in place. They just need to include a women's team. Do the same things they do with the men's team," she said.

The simplicity of Josline's answer makes you realize that the roadmap for a better future for women's football in India lies right ahead. But very few footballing bodies in the country are ready to fight their inertia.

One small step for ISL clubs, one giant leap for Indian football.

FC Goa have their roadmap planned and Ishita Godinho bares it all out for us. The Gaurs in the short-term are preparing for the GFA Vedanta Women's League and are hoping to win the same. They are also developing a scouting network for goan talent.

Winning the Vedanta Women's League will give the club the opportunity to represent the state in the Indian Women's League, the highest tier of professional football in the country.

That happens to be FC Goa's long-term plan, according to Godinho. She further hopes that the Women's Team can soon imbibe the playing style of the men's team. The development of women's football in Goa would also mean more of Goan talents in the Indian national camp, concludes Ishita Godinho.

Now all that is left for the club and the players is to materialize these plans into reality in the near future.

Sports can be one of the most powerful platforms to express and empower oneself. The who's who of Indian football has often disregarded their duty as a society to allow women to express themselves or earn a livelihood by playing the beautiful game.

The most important word here to understand is our "duty." Clubs should take the needed steps not out of any external persuasion but to uphold what football truly stands for -- the great equalizer.

Until then, let the tiny emerald land on the west coast of India show the footballing heavyweights of our country the way forward.