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India were handed a stern reality check in their opening match of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022 against the United States. The Blue Tigresses suffered a humbling 0-8 loss at the hands of the visitors on Tuesday (October 11).
However, the defeat against the USA is not just a minor blip in India's journey, it highlights the longstanding obstacles that are embroiled in the country's women's footballing structure. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has been regularly denounced for its step-motherly treatment of the women's game.
India lacks a proper age-group setup and the top-tier women's league runs for just slightly over a month. Despite this, the federation went out of its way to launch its bid for hosting the U-17 Women's World Cup in the country. The Blue Tigresses only sealed a berth in the tournament as the host nation. But the match against the United States brought to the forefront the glaring gulf in qualities between the two nations.
Fans all over social media stressed that while hosting such tournaments might give a generation of players some remarkable exposure, that is no substitute for the lack of footballing structure in the country, especially for the women's game.
Here are some of the best tweets:
The message all over Twitter was loud and clear -- there's no shortcut to a well-established footballing structure in the country. The glitz and glamor of an age-group can attract temporary attention, but development will only come through persistence and perseverance.
The new AIFF administration will have to take prompt steps to better the ground reality in Indian women's football
A lack of proper youth footballing structure in the country means that a lot of these players in India's U-17 women team have been exposed to the game at a much later stage as compared to their counterparts from other nations. Furthermore, no proper age-group system has been put in place to identify these talents at a much earlier stage and nurture them to their fullest potential.
Meanwhile, months ahead of the much-anticipated FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, the former assistant coach of the nation's age-group women's team, Alex Ambrose, was accused of alleged sexual misconduct with one of the team members. The trauma that the entire group of youngsters underwent is unfathomable. The federation is still yet to provide an update on the situation following the initial statement after the incident came to light.
Hence, the difference in quality on the pitch tonight shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. The result tonight is a call to the Indian footballing authorities to avoid mere tokenism when it comes to women's football and lay down a roadmap that could provide wholesome development for the sport in the coming years.
