How football training programmes can change gender dynamics
Varchand Suresh, a 24-year-old project manager at Ramkrishan Dev School from Ganeshpur, Gujarat, has seen significant changes in his community with the introduction of the new sport initiative From Field to Fanshop. Having grown up in a rural area, Suresh has familiarised himself with the administration of a school step by step. He started out as a teacher and now takes care of organisational and administrative tasks. Thanks to him, everything at the school runs like clockwork.
The importance of education is particularly important to him. Especially in rural areas, school can show that there are other career options besides farming: “Children learn valuable skills through sport, such as teamwork, self-confidence, discipline and communication, which will help them in their further education as well as in their later life in general.”
This is why Suresh is pleased that the regular football training sessions organised by the youth football club Rurka Kalan, YFC on the school grounds are well received by the children. “Here they can grow beyond themselves and inspire others,” he hopes.
Learning from real football matches
Suresh has observed that many children from rural areas have never been to a football match and might not even know what a football pitch looks like. “I suggested to YFC that they start by watching real matches with the children for them to learn how the sport works before they start training.”
The sport programme has been very well received in the region. Participating children and young adults not only improve their sport skills but also perform better at school since they have learned how to work as a team and how to improve their self-confidence, which in turn encourages them to participate more in class. “The children look excited when they play football“, Suresh reports. “The smiles on their faces show much they like it. Through the initiative, the children not only know how to kick the ball and score goals, but also how the game works and how best to get involved.”
Gender equality in sport
One of the most remarkable changes since the start of the project is the gender distribution on the pitch: “In our country, the proportion of girls in sport lessons is generally quite low”, according to Suresh. “In rural areas, girls hardly ever finish the eighth grade, and they are unlikely to participate in sport classes or activities. In our trainings, we achieve gender equality, though.” It was his first time seeing girls play football, too. “But I am sure that with the right guidance and opportunities, girls can achieve great things – in football and beyond.”
Suresh wishes for gender equality in sport to become the norm. “Hopefully, in the future, more girls will join the YFC football programme to represent their communities at state and national level. Already, it makes me very proud to see girls and boys from our community playing sport together on an equal footing.”
And changes are also underway in the community in terms of gender dynamics: “The fact that the girls now dare to play alongside the boys also means a change in the way villagers see things. Over the course of the training sessions, it has become quite normal for everyone to play in the same team.” Although the road to gender equality in Gujarat is still long, the conversation with Suresh shows that equal opportunities in sport can have a profound impact on a community.