laurels earned in Spain and the anti-climax witnessed in the US Cup seem to have no bearing on the oceanic courage of the otherwise poor, downtrodden tribal girls of Hutup village near the State Capital. They have decided just not to continue with their avenue to the world—football—but with greater intensity and in more emphatic manner.
The YUWA-India organsiation working rigorously with over 200 girls of the village and around has mooted a plan to have qualified coaches and mentors on its board who would apart from providing skilled soccer training to them also guide them through the challenges. The purpose is to extend the best professional help to the girls, mostly teenagers, so that their participation in various tournaments and performance over there can be better.
“We have invited applications from skilled and proven professionals to be appointed as coaches and mentors with YUWA. Idea behind the initiative is to provide the girls best professional coaching of the game. They would make ready the players for events taking place in various parts of India and also abroad and send them for trials taking place anywhere,” said Neha Baxla, senior member of the organisation.
Till date, YUWA and its team of players have been dependent on its American founder Franz Gastler who himself is not a professionally trained footballer or a coach. It was his sheer motivation that prompted him to choose the impoverished, dusty tribal hinterland over his native country and guided the girls to the world of opportunities.
The team journeyed last year from their poor village to Spain and won bronze in the Gasteiz Cup and Donosti Cup, Spain’s biggest football tournament. Though, the team could not fare well in the US Cup later this year but the organisation’s role is not only confined to the sport. Yuwa has played role in bringing girls out of isolation, connects them with their peers, encourages for continuing their education and raise voice against menaces like child marriage, sex related discrimination and no access to education, omnipresent in most of the villages of the State and even of the country.
“We are open about having number of mentors with us. Preferably the role would be given to an Indian citizen. We have started receiving the applications in good numbers and after filtering those we would come up with full fledged coach and mentor for the girls,” added Neha.
The mentor, unlike common football trainers, would also encourage the girls in shaping their career and pursue their academic goals. “Entire purpose is to maintain the uniqueness of YUWA in their area of social empowerment and also excel the on field performance of the girls so that they do not get disheartened with small-small setbacks,” said Franz Gastler.