19-year city girl, Nadiya Nighat, is pinning high hopes on Punjab Football Association after being given cold shoulder by JK Football Association reports Itifaq Lone
“There is hardly any event in football organized in state I have missed since 2010.There is a tremendous support till school level but suddenly people supposed to offer you bigger opportunities at higher level of age abandon you and get busy in involving other young girls at school level,”
Like Indian cricketer ParveezRasool, this 19 year old city girl Nadiya Nighat could have also proved her worth in the second most loving game of Kashmir-Soccer. Unfortunately, she found no support to her talent here and eventually decided to shift to neighbouring state Punjab in pursuance of her career.
“I have decided now to join Punjab Football Association to sustain my dream of becoming international soccer. I gave best part of my life to this game and how can I quit midway now,” she vows.
Attired in a track suit with trimmed hairs, Nadiya never prefer girlish looks and resembles to world famous footballer Cristanio Ronalado. The posters of Ronaldo, her role model are posted in her room everywhere.
“Every morning when I wake up, I look at those posters which keep my journey thriving,” she says.
Somehow, she is feeling cheated by JKFA, which nourish the talent at school level and abandon them in the middle of their career.
“Our government football association JKFA come to schools and encourage us to play football. They show us dreams and when we fall in love with the game and choose it as our career they vanish with their promises,” Nadiya rues.
But the girl doesn’t feel that lack of support in his home state will ever deter her dream to choose it as her destiny and vowed to continue her struggle till she achieves her dream of representing India at International level.
“When Parveez Rasool can overcome the odds and make it to India’s eleven in international cricket, why can’t me.”
Nadiya is joining the Punjab football association with her 10 national and state level awards in women football.
A year ago, the All India Football Association awarded her a trophy and national certificate for best ‘Referee’ for boys B-division football organized by JKFA. Later during same year AIFF facilitated this centre-forward position of soccer with D-licence coaching certificate.
At her school, she had always retained her top position in soccer and bagged number of prizes.
“There is hardly any event in football organized in state I have missed since 2010.There is a tremendous support till school level but suddenly people supposed to offer you bigger opportunities at higher level of age abandon you and get busy in involving other young girls at school level,” Nadiya showed her disappointment.
But her grudges don’t end here. Equally upset with the ultra-conservative mental set up, she feels that women are not encouraged to play soccer in Kashmir, adding further to her disappointment.
Her love to soccer drives back to 2007 when she would join her next door kids in Rambagh locality of Srinagar to play the game. “Inside my heart watching a game from my home through a window and hear yells, shoutings like Pass on, Goal and cheers is that would enthral my heart and force me to join my neighbouring boys for game that continued for many years.,” she recalls.
As Nadiya grew up, younger, she started maintaining distance from the opposite gender, therefore, upholding conservative ethos of society at the cost of her desires.
What shows her commitment to the passion, Nadiya in absence of any women team had always set her goals in the male dominating football teams.Her first coaching academy was‘Grass Root’ where she was again standing single female soccer aspirant. “I started my football career playing with boys, because no girl was allowed by their parents to play football.”
A student of government school, Chanpora she was not much allowed displaying her talent for the game. With only girl among 47 boys, she again braved the odds and joined Amar Singh College Academy (AS) to learn football by Coach Mohammad Abdullah. She also served as football coach there for four years and trained dozens of boys.
“I love playing football. So it doesn’t bother me weather I am playing with boys or girls. Instead I faced many problems in past. But I concentrate more on game instead these issues,” She says.
In 2010, Nadiya played first National level football with J&K Girls Football Team, which is associated with Jammu and Kashmir Youth Service and Sports (JKYSS), and second time Nadiya played nationals in 2015 with JKFA along with another girl from Kashmir.
Nadiya along with another girl are the only two female representatives from Kashmir in state women football team for 2015-16.
“It is difficult for girls to play the game outside valley since most of the parents doesn’t allow. But my parents were enough generous who allowed and encouraged me all the time,” she thanks to her parents.
Presently, the aspiring soccer runs her own coaching academy at Rambagh where she has more than 30 children admitted including three girls. At TRC football coaching academy she trains 20 footballers higher of her age.
“Even in our government run schools, there is no proper treatment for the sports students especially females. The authorities hesitate to recommend the girls for outdoor games due to which most of the students give up their careers in sports.” Once she was almost to give up her career when her parents initially resisted sending her out. But the timely intervention of her coach helped her to convince her parents after four months.
“My relatives and my neighbors are not pleased about me I am playing football. Even my mother forced me many times not to go in playing fields and play with boys. But my father supports me a lot.”
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The story first appeared in print edition of April 27.
