MARGAO
Gokulam Kerala FC's Women's football team will attend a training session in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Except this session won't be like most others -- they will be training for a match they know isn't going to happen. In a tournament, they won't be part of, for no fault of their own.
23 players are stranded 1500 kilometres away from India in a strange land, their purpose torn from them.
There have been numerous discussions to understand the implications of the FIFA suspension on Indian football, but in Gokulam Kerala's plight, you can see the immediate human impact. The suits may carry on deliberating endlessly, but the people really affected are the ones on the ground.
Gokulam landed in Tashkent on Tuesday morning to take part in their second AFC Women's Club Championship. They were greeted by news of the suspension of their national federation. This meant that they were banned from participating in the tournament they had travelled to take part in.
Gokulam Kerala is set to face Uzbekistan club Sogdiana–W in its first match and then play Iranian side Bam Khatoon FC on August 26.
The team is led by Indian captain Ashalata Devi. There are seven Indian team players and four foreigners in the team. The foreigners are Sabitra Bhandari (Nepal), Vivian Adjei Konadu (Ghana), Beatrice Ntiwaa Nketia (Ghana) and Bertha Omita Adhiambo (Kenya). This year there are eight Kerala players and one player from the GKFC’s academy in Kannur.
Last year, Gokulam Kerala finished third in the inaugural AFC Women’s Club Championship. They lost two games and won one, with the victory coming against Bunyodkor in their final match.
Goan defender Michelle Castana speaking over the telephone from Uzbekistan was looking forward to a good showing against the host club.
“If we play to our potential against the host club then we will attain (gain) a lot of confidence for the second match against the Iranian club where we are aiming nothing short of a championship," Castana told the Goan Everyday on Thursday.
“Hopefully, we can make history in Tashkent and make our Kerala state proud. We are going to give our absolute best in every match we play this year.”
The team then underwent a 60 days camp in Kerala.
While there was palpable excitement among the squad to be back in international action, the tour will also provide perspective on how things have shaped up in terms of strategy and tactics.
“All the players in the team are feeling very confident about their games,” said Castana.
“It will be interesting to see how each one of them performs in a match situation after playing last year.”
When asked about FIFA banning India from international activities, Castana remains hopeful that better sense will prevail and FIFA will allow them to play in the championship.
