Kajol D'Souza: A glimmer of hope for women's football; a flagbearer for LALIGA  Football School's aspirations in India

"Well, Kajol's (D'Souza) selection (for LaLiga Football Academy in Madrid) was easy in a way," Saul Vazquez, Senior Specialist in Sports Project Development, asserted. Considering the meteoric rise that Kajol has witnessed over the last four or five years, there wasn't any ground to question the Spaniard's statement either.

Initially, her passion for the sport was bred while playing with her brother and his friends in the colony; that nimble footwork and tactical acumen were nurtured while she devised maneuvers to outwit her male counterparts.

"Like all girls at that age, I didn't have the physicality to compete with the guys. So I had to beat around the bush and see what I could do to hold myself equal to those boys. Since they were so physical with me, I needed to figure out how to get the ball out quickly. I started to use my mind more and learn the tactical side of the game," Kajol explained during an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda.

"That's what girls would develop when they play with boys during those formative years. Physicality comes a lot later. Most academies don't accommodate such match-ups, but I grew up in such an environment, which helped me grow as a player," she added.

For someone who had just turned 18 earlier this year, Kajol almost seemed to have taken a shortcut to accumulating the wisdom of adulthood. But her footballing journey never saw her cutting any corners. In search of an academy to realize her ambition of becoming a professional footballer, Kajol, still a teenager landed at the Schools India de LALIGA Academy in Pune in 2018. Three years later, she was signed to Parikrma FC in the Karnataka Women's League.

"When I started playing football, I never expected to make it as a professional player," she admitted.

But football's a funny game, it often stitches together the most miraculous tales when one least expects. India were slated to host the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in 2020, however, with the pandemic leaving everything at a halt, the 2020 edition of the tournament was abandoned and the country was automatically awarded the hosting rights of the next event in 2022.

The delay of the World Cup in India serendipitously aligned with Kajol's burgeoning career, and there she was on Thomas Dennerby's roster for India's U-17 team.

"The moment I realized I could participate in the U-17 World Cup, I went all out. As a footballer, there's nothing bigger than representing your country in a major international competition. It was a dream of mine to play in that World Cup, and that it happened, I'm very grateful for it."

The exposure she garnered, and her exploits in the IWL in the 2022-23 season with a staggering 10-goal tally for Sethu FC, meant Kajol had announced herself to Indian football. An international stage matching her excellence came calling when she earned an opportunity to train at the LALIGA Football Academy in Madrid for a year in September 2023. A new horizon was in sight for the little girl from Pune who couldn't stop dribbling to greater heights.

---

"Not many people can get such an opportunity" - Kajol D'Souza opens up about life at LALIGA Academy in Madrid

At the Academy, Kajol's daily routine sounds a bit mundane when she jots it down, balancing academics and training as any diligent teenager does, or at least hopes to. But there's nothing mundane about the resounding steps she takes away from the spotlight.

The Pune-born forward has been rubbing shoulders with some of the finest talents in Spain, and astonishingly often outdoing them.

"The experience that we get from playing matches here stands out. For a player who is playing in any league, they are stuck to competing against the teams from only that particular league. But here we get to play teams across multiple categories. We played against the youth team of Madrid CFF at the start of the season, then we recently played against Barcelona's youth team in a tournament, and only recently we went to Malaga to play against their senior team."

"So I have already been exposed to football across multiple age groups. Staying in India or even playing for a 3rd or 4th league in Spain, I wouldn't get such exposure. Not many people can get such an opportunity," she averred during the interaction.

For those unaware, Barcelona Femini are agonizingly brilliant at football, to the level that often leaves their competition frustrated. But Kajol reveals the LALIGA Academy team she plies her trade for bested the youth team of the Blaugranas.

"In the recent tournament where we played against the Barcelona youth team, we defeated them as well. So it was a big day for me. Any small girl coming out of a small city like I did would even dream of playing against them, let alone defeating them."

Throughout the interview, she keeps thanking her stars for the opportunity she landed upon. But it isn't just happenchance. Quizzed about what are the criteria to select any aspiring players like Kajol for the Madrid LALIGA Academy, Saul Vazquez explained to Sportskeeda:

"We have known Kajol since we started the program in 2018. She is a player with a lot of potential, focused on what she needs to do, has a big hunger to become a great footballer, and has a hard-working profile. Also, she has achieved the National team in different categories. Basically, she is one of the best players in her age group in India. Kajol´s selection was easy in a way that she is part of LaLiga."

"What we look for in other players is apart from the technical skills and the talent, the potential to keep growing with our help in Madrid. Here we have great facilities, resources, and a good competition environment to provide young talent with a great platform to become even better. We also look for the progression and mentality to enjoy and get the most out of the experience here in Spain."

LALIGA have spent six years in the country, developing its chain of football schools, which now stands at 31 centers. Saul, having overseen this initiative, has developed an understanding of an average Indian player and shared his/her insights.

"Talent is everywhere and of course, India has potential. To become better, footballers need to be developed in all four areas - technical-coordinative, tactical-cognitive, physical-conditional, and social-affective - and be provided with different tools and resources."

"The lack of game understanding sometimes is huge, you could find a very talented player in terms of skills but making the wrong decision during a game. That´s why we try to work holistically. In our methodology all four areas are indivisible. If you see young talent in LaLiga, you can see how our players though young, have a great game understanding and that´s why they are at the top level," he spelt out.

Kajol too doubles down on the lack of tactical acumen in her gameplay before traveling to Madrid.

"In football being technical is just the one percent, then from there you go on to how you can be tactically sound and understand the game better. I have developed a lot of understanding of different kinds of gameplans, which I didn't have access to earlier."

This is where the Schools India de LALIGA Academy comes in, intending to provide aspiring footballers across the country with holistic development. However, India's youth development sector is still largely unorganized, so it has been a challenge for the league to expand its ambitions across the country.

"In our point of view, the two main issues where India could focus to keep improving are: good facilities in size and quality are one of the challenges; and the complexity of the competition system for young players," Vazquez underlined.

"The formats to play tournaments or even official matches are far from reality and the lack of competition is a key factor in players development. In our experience, with some support, young coaches can improve year after year and they are doing a better job on the field, but without regular competition and such a large number of players in tiny spaces, it is a real challenge to develop young talent. But we are already seeing improvements."

---

Yearning to replicate her idol's footsteps, Kajol D'Souza eyes opportunities abroad

Representing India in a FIFA competition at 16, top Indian scorer in an IWL season months after, first from the country to train at the elite LALIGA Academy in Madrid at 17, already part of the senior national team setup before turning an adult - Kajol D'Souza relentless. But she isn't fixated on maintaining this absurd growth.

"I want to slow down, appreciate, and be grateful," Kajol attested with an air of confidence one would often see enveloping her when she takes the pitch. There's gratitude in her for the opportunities that have fallen into place, but also the realization of the immense responsibility that comes with it.

"I’m usually a very competitive person and I feel like sometimes it's good but the other times, it causes a lot of pressure. I want to go forward, but I also want to slow down, appreciate, and be grateful for everything that I have. Not many people have had the opportunity that I have had. Players from the U-20 I shared the dressing room with, I don't see a lot of them going out," she expounds.

"I want to be progressive, however slow or steady it is because I feel I have quite a bit of time to deal with that."

Whenever a youngster is sitting at the other end, there's a tendency to pop the 'Who's your role model?' question. In this situation, Kajol obliges and answers:

"I look up to Manisha Kalyan, and in fact, she was my roommate in the senior women's team camp, and it was a dream come true to share a room with your idol. The reason is because of the way she went abroad, adapted so quickly, and recently even won the Championship. Her journey inspires me because now I understand it isn't easy to come abroad and leave everything behind."

The intention for narrowing in on who an individual perceives as their idols is to draw parallels, unravel a layer that's beyond the superficial, and have a gauge of their ambition. Once Kajol mentioned Manisha, those invisible dots started joining almost immediately.

Their careers have skyrocketed similarly, with the underlying confidence, calculated words, inherent flair on the ball, and a resolute belief to transcend into an international success story.

"I need to go out and expand. The more early I do it, the better. Because I will get a lot of time to develop a particular system then. The LaLiga Academy will also help us to get in contact with teams, so that's my dream," Kajol revealed.

When Manisha joined the virtual media conference days after her historic goal against Brazil in November 2021, the day she became an overnight sensation, there was an odd sense of control within her. She wouldn't have come across so many reporters posing one question after another, yet, the occasion not even for a minute left her overwhelmed.

With Kajol, there's a similar aura of composure. Astonishingly, she always has answers, whether to journalists or crunching challenges from defenders.