"Growing up, I used to watch my brothers and male classmates play football," says Brismani Devi. "But girls never played. I used to be so envious." One day, she convinced a group of girls to play football with her in school. "Hockey used to be more popular, but after we played football, we realised how much skill it needed, and we were hooked! A small group of us convinced the boys to let us play with them." The girls had no gear, not even shoes. "We were happy playing barefoot, with a ball borrowed from the boys," she says. After some time, they began playing against the village boys' team and beat them hollow.
The girls' team continued to face obstacles: their school could provide them with no training, coach or kits. They weren't allowed to register with any district authority or clubs. Most crucially, a majority of the families weren't keen to let their daughters out of the house, let alone on the football field. Against all odds, the football fanatics finally formed the Dumardaga Football Club in 2007.
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"Things began turning around for us after we won our first district-level tournament," says Brismani Devi. The club received support from NGO Plan India under their Support My School project. The project enabled their small village school to provide them with fully functional toilets, drinking water, a well-equipped sports ground, jerseys, nets and the much-needed shoes. And so, the girls of DFC began representing their school at tournaments, winning medals as well as local approval for their passion for the game.
"Suddenly, people's attitudes towards us began to change," says Brismani Devi. "When we'd walk through the village, people would ask us what tournament we were playing next. Looking at us, younger girls aspired to play football as well, and surprisingly, more and more parents began giving their daughters permission to play." Years went by and some of the older girls got married, but others readily took their place. Brismani Devi has remained with DFC, first as a player and now, as a coach.
Through the years, the NGO ensured that the girls of DFC not only played to their heart's content, but also empowered them with training on basic health and hygiene issues. Girls playing football has become such a common sight in Dumardaga that not only do villagers happily send their daughters to play they even contribute money to ensure the club continues to motivate young girls.
Today, DFC has 16 members in its senior team and 30 in its junior team. They routinely participate in district- and state-level tournaments and half a dozen among them have also made it to the state women's football team. Plan India's intervention has enabled the school to develop better facilities for girls, and consequently, more girls are in school than ever before. Today, when Brismani Devi is not studying - she's in the second year of college - she's coaching girls of DFC on the field.
"All I want is to open a football academy of my own now," says Brismani Devi. "Football has helped a girl like me to gain the respect of my community and has changed my life. Now I'd like to see it change the lives of all the young girls in my district."