Women's football needs lot of guiding, says FC Goa's Malvita Mascarenhas

The Gaurs' women's team are preparing for the upcoming GFA Vedanta Women's Football League.

Three players from the FC Goa Women’s Team took questions from the media as the GFA Vedanta Women’s League nears its kick-off date. The Gaurs are fielding a team after a gap of one year and a new winner will be crowned this year as none of the former champions are participating this year. Malvita Mascarenhas is one of the more experienced players in the FC Goa side.

The defender has played for the Cuncolim Warriors in the GFA Vedanta Women's League before. She has also represented India at the U-19 stage. On the other hand, Kimberley Fernandez, who hails from Mumbai has previously featured in the Indian Women’s League for Bodyline FC, a team from Mumbai. She had won the MDFA Women’s League in 2016 representing the same side, during the course of which she won the Player of the Tournament accolade.

Meanwhile, Kuslum Shaikh is a versatile player who is set to make her GFA Vedanta Women's League debut this season. She has played multiple sports at the university level, featuring in the school nationals and senior nationals in football.

The squad and the chemistry within

Team chemistry and bonding is a big issue with any squad especially one that has just been completely made from scratch. Malvita Mascarenhas spoke on that note saying, “The team is shaping up quite well. We have a lot of youngsters working with us right now."

"The team is gelling up well and working together to play how the coach demands. It is what we are doing right now. We are also encouraging the youngsters to figure themselves out and work along with us and give their best."

Return to football post pandemic

The pandemic has been a huge problem for the players in terms of maintaining conditioning, but the team is working towards bettering themselves day-by-day. Speaking about the challenges, Kuslum Shaikh said, “It was difficult to catch up with the stamina. But then we are really working hard as a team and doing great.”

The FC Goa philosophy

FC Goa women’s playing style will adhere to the philosophy that has defined FC Goa to Indian football fans since their inception. Malvita Mascarenhas opened up on the same saying, “It is tough. It is not what women’s football  is familiar with. It is challenging because it demands a lot. Tactically, it is more sound both offensively and defensively. We are trying to stick to the plan. If the coach demands it, then we have to give it. Maybe it won’t work right away but we are sticking to our plan.”

The demands of playing the FC Goa way

The demands that comes with a tactically sound philosophy is huge especially for the young players within the squad. “As I have said, it is a bit for new for us," quoted Malvita Mascarenhas. "We understand it, but it becomes a bit difficult for the youngsters. But they can’t just say no because of that. We are trying to bring everybody together. Unlike men’s football, women’s football needs a lot of guiding, from people outside to the person next to you. It takes a lot of team effort. It doesn’t matter if you are a junior or senior, everyone needs to do their bit. Talk to each other and support.”

Adding to that, Kuslum Shaikh said, ”It is a challenge for all of us. Challenges are what make us better. It will make players better for it.”

Kimberley Fernandez too expressed her opinion on the same, saying, "It's a very demanding style of play. It's not a thing that we generally play. We have been working with the same style since we started, so everybody has been keeping up well. It is the team that is working together. It just feels nice to be able to play the FC Goa way. And the fact that the coaches have faith in us to play as well as the boys are playing."

Off-field and on-field training

The well-planned training sessions have helped mitigate the tightness of the schedule to a huge extent. ”I think because time is so short, our coaches have managed to integrate the on-field and off-field aspects very well. We do mostly on-field training," continued Kimberley Fernandez.

"They analyze the video of our matches and they come to us with what needs work on. We could probably see ourselves have video sessions during the league. But in terms of preparations, we have done mostly the on-field work and the coaches are doing the off-field work to guide us and improve us on the field.”

Individual targets to play for

There is no 'I' in team for the FC Goa players. Winning the league is the main goal for them. Shaikh stated, “There are no individual targets as such. Football is a team game. We want to go to IWL and want to perform there as well. All of us are working hard to achieve that.”

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