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| Edited By: Yoshita Rao |Source: DNA |Updated: Jun 29, 2018, 11:24 AM IST
Assisting David Beckham on a winning goal for Manchester United, one of the English Premier Leagues' professional football clubs – this is the fantasy that Jesminder Kaur is woken up from at the beginning of the movie Bend it like Beckham. Though many Indians may not share in the same fantasy as the protagonist, who bends the rules of an orthodox Indian family to play professional football, they certainly do share her enthusiasm. With the worldwide sensation that is the FIFA World Cup occurring once every four years, the anticipation only adds to the football fever. The pregame jitters, a breath-catching moment when a team's star player is injured, the agony of missing a goal and ecstasy of landing it – such is the fan behaviour noted not only among men, but also many women.
What draws some to the game is a feeling of brotherhood among players, who exchange team jerseys at the end of a well-played game. For others, like working mother and third grade teacher, Michelle Danda, it is about defending a goal and all that it represents. A resident of Kolkata, Danda speaks as passionately about football as she does about her career. Despite her tight schedule, she makes time to watch the match unfailingly every night. "I go to school, get back home, try to do as much work as possible till my four-year-old daughter falls asleep, and then I try and catch the game," Danda says, adding that watching the sport gives her a thrill. "From the time of Michael Ballack, Bernd Schneider and Miroslav Klose, I have been a Germany fan," says Danda, who says a prayer before every game, so that Germany can somehow win the cup this year.
Several of the female fan base may have been introduced to the sport by family induction. "My cousin brother and I would often fight over the remote. And all he would ask for would be just 15 minutes more of watching the match. Inevitably, in the end, I would get engrossed in the game and wouldn't want to change the channel either," says Mumbai-based playback singer Tarannum Mallik, who doesn't intend to miss a single game of the 2018 World Cup. A Spain supporter for this World Cup, Mallik says football motivates her. She adds that it's the high emotion of the fans watching the game that also moves her.
Harbouring a deep passion for the sport is another Delhi-based resident Anisha Dutta, who is travelling to Russia to cheer the players live in action this World Cup. Her love for football began a decade ago in the UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Euro 2008 Final, where Spain defeated Germany with a 33rd-minute goal from Fernando Torres. "Torres, also known as 'El Nino', scored a sublime goal and he got me hooked. Spanish football was a treat to watch. The following year I had an accident and was completely bedridden with a lot of time to kill. So, I would play FIFA on my PlayStation for days on end," says the 26-year-old journalist.
Trying to edge their way into this predominantly 'men's only' fraternity, women are often found running their own commentary on the side and/ or laughing about the theatrics displayed on field by a few players who repeatedly fall during a single match. While some express their fury at the 'blind referees', who can sometimes make some questionable calls, others engage in typical fan-based superstitious rituals before almost every match. Take, for instance, 24-year-old Joanna Cardoz, who believes in keeping her Thomas Muller jersey (Germany) and cap in close proximity while the Germans take on the rest of the world and believes that this will make the team win the game. "I've been supporting them since the 2006 World Cup. Germany was the one team that stood out for me because they were good, strong and unified. With Germany, it's never just one player that stands out like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or Neymar Jr, it's the collaborative effort of the whole team that sets them apart," she says, qualifying her love for the German team.
Although patriarchy believes that women can never be more than just 'seasonal football fans', Dutta believes otherwise. "I was once asked to name the starting 11 of my favourite football teams just to prove that I am a legitimate fan, which I'm fairly certain won't be a criteria for a male fan."
Trolling for being a woman football fan comes in spades. Nishtha Kanal, freelance journalist and avid football Twitterati, has experienced this. She now prefers to take the high road. "A lot of the time, guys who want to get one-up you on Twitter will challenge you with things like 'what's the offside rule?' or 'who are the people in the team?' I've learnt to ignore trolls – well, mostly," Kanal laughs. She adds, "Club football has been skillfully marketed to create interest and, in the past 10 years, it's become a game that both men and women watch. I know women who are just as knowledgeable as men about facts and trivia."
[(Clockwise) Michelle Danda, working mom and football fanatic; Nishtha Kanal avid football twitterati; Anisha Dutta with her Argentina jersey is travelling to Russia this World Cup; Bollywood playback singer and passionate Spain supporter Tarannum Mallik; Patricia Furtado, a sports manager for Bombay Scottish since 1994 also trains street kids in football; and Joanna Cardoz takes a selfie with Joshua Kimmich, Germany’s defender]
While some may narrow it down to just a passing World Cup phase among women, the thrill of following such an intense contact sport is much more than that. Football is known to have unpredictable outcomes even at the eleventh hour. Players can be substituted right up to the final few minutes, and game-changing goals can be scored even as the clock ticks down the last few seconds of injury time.
Mallik further elaborates on why women are drawn to the game. "Firstly, it's only a 90-minute game and secondly, there are so many twists and turns that happen in those few minutes that it keeps you riveted. Also, elements like fouls, penalties, free-kicks, can make the end result of any match full of suspense," says Mallik, who finds the long cricket matches with 50 overs, "kind of boring."
Echoing the opinion, Kanal says the only reason she would watch cricket as a child was because of her dad. Football, on the other hand, is filled with dramatic moments. "There's a lot of behind-the-scenes banter with club football and the exchange of players, which is another aspect that appeals to a larger audience. Besides, cricket is a slower game – honestly, fewer women have the kind of time to follow these games from start to finish."
However, for those like Patricia Furtado, a former national level hockey player turned football coach to underprivileged children in Mumbai, the game spans beyond its engrossing, action-packed format. The Bandra resident, who claims to be the first coach to have begun women's football coaching in Mumbai, was a national level hockey player, but says her first love will always be football. "Football doesn't need much of an infrastructure. Growing up in Bandra, we would play the game on the streets or in any vacant ground. All you need is a ball between 22 players and two stones to mark the goalpost. On the other hand, in hockey, you would need nets, sticks and a proper ground," says the sports manager at Bombay Scottish, who admits to having a weak spot for the underdogs in the World Cup.
A Philippe Coutinho (Brazil) fan, and state level footballer for Maharashtra, Kimberly Fernandez has been playing football since the tender age of eight, right through college and university level. After being trained by her father, who was also the coach, in the 'under 8' and 'under 10' boys groups, she was always up to the challenge of taking on the opposite sex at football. "Some guys believe we can't play because we are girls. The only option is to challenge them to a game and sometimes show them that we are better at football than they are." The 21-year-old then chimes in with what keeps her on the field, "I have been playing for the love of the game. Yet, the fact that everyone here questions a girl playing football is what keeps me motivated to play even more. The game is easy to get hooked to, and for that reason I believe everyone, male and female, can be football fans."
The not-so-silently cheering female fans now await the day India will make her debut in the World Cup. A chance to cheer for your own country when the stakes are that high, that's the dream. Till then, we all continue to cheer for another country that we think has the best chance.
An upcoming Marathi film titled Monsoon Football portrays the lead role, a female actress, in an unusual scene. Former Chak de India star Sagarika Ghatge is pictured wearing a green sari and orange sneakers, with one leg on a football. Director Milind Kishor Ukey, who has helmed films like Paathshaala, clarified in an interview that the movie is less about football and more on women's empowerment. The film is scheduled to release in 2019.
After being forbidden to watch football for a total of 38 years, Iranian women were finally allowed to enjoy the live broadcast of FIFA World Cup 2018 in Tehran's Azadi Stadium as Iran took on Spain on June 20. Though the country lost with Spain's striker Diego Costa scoring a 54th-minute goal, the pictures of the women posted online displayed sheer delight at being given an opportunity to cheer on their home team at an international stage. A notable increase of female viewership at 45% just a week into FIFA World Cup 2018 has been recorded so far, as per the estimates of the official broadcasters in India, Sony Network.
