IWL debutants East Bengal look to begin brightly

Head coach Sujata Kar hopes for a competition-filled tournament that will guarantee more investment.

There is a myth that permeates Indian Women’s football, about its nascency and lack of history. It is a myth that ignores the many who played this game before it caught the eyeballs of the mainstream, diminishing their achievements and also denying them a rightful place in it. This isn’t limited to players; clubs face it too.

When East Bengal take to the field against defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC in their first game of the Hero IWL 2022-23 season, they will mark their debut in the competition. But to say that they will make a debut in women’s football, would not be right. To learn about the history of East Bengal’s forays into women’s football, perhaps there is no need to look further than their current head coach Sujata Kar.

Kar captained the club to a maiden Kolkata Women’s football league title in 2001 and was there at the same stage 22 years later, in the dugout, when they won it for a second time.

One of the best women footballers

A former India international, Kar is regarded as one of the finest women footballers to have played the game in India. Years before Bala Devi broke new ground by playing for Rangers in Scotland, Kar and her teammate Alpana Seal had a similar opportunity — scouted and asked to go on trial at the German club TSV Crailsheim. While the deal eventually fell through, the experience gained was enough to tell Kar that her home country had talent, if not yet unearthed and unscouted, to succeed at the top levels of the sport.

Over the years, Kar has worked with many women’s clubs in various roles, while also staying true to her ultimate ambition of uplifting the game, by travelling to the remotest corners of West Bengal, villages in Jhargram, Purulia, and West Midnapur, to find talented footballers. India international Sangita Basfore is among those who credit Kar for her foray into the beautiful game.

Kar believes that encouragement for bigger clubs to invest in women’s football will come from ensuring a calendar that guarantees competition.

Kar wants a more regulated calendar

"The Federation has made some very progressive and historic announcements for women’s football," she says. "But now the onus is on states, I believe to enforce them and also create calendars that will guarantee that girls play through the year. The more they play, the better they will get, and the more investment that will come in. With more tournaments, perhaps even more investors will be keen to come in and extend a hand to us. And one thing I can guarantee, if they extend one hand, our girls will put out two, to grab the opportunity and prove their mettle."

In the immediate, East Bengal’s ‘Moshal girls’ will have to prove their mettle with the hardest test imaginable, against the defending champions and formidable opponents Gokulam Kerala. While accepting that this is perhaps the toughest way to begin a maiden IWL campaign, Kar also says that she doesn’t want to pressure the girls into a result. All she asks is that they ‘fight and play 100%’.

"Every club will go into the tournament with different ambitions," she says. "Some want to win the title, some want to create history, catch eyeballs etc. For me, the aim is to maximise game time for local players and give them the experience of playing on this big stage, against tough opponents. They should learn a lot, and very quickly, from this experience."