The girls had a never back down attitude - Jayadev Mahapatra shares the story of Mata Rukmani FC

In the recently concluded Indian Women's League (IWL), Mata Rukmani FC, a side from the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, caught everyone's attention. Even though the side were unable to grab as many wins as they would have wanted, their character impressed many as they became a talking point.

Mata Rukmani FC is based out of the Mata Rukmani ashram in Bastar that is run by Padma Shri Dharampal Saini, or as he is famously called, Tauji (elder uncle). One day, he called Jayadev Mahapatra, founder of the Ardor Football Academy, and sought his help to give the girls from the ashram a chance to play.

Jayadev Mahapatra, sharing his account of the incident, said:

"We got a call from Jagdalpur. Padma Shri Dharampal Saini called me. He is famously known as the Tauji of Bastar, and is 94 years old. He informed me about the ashram and that the team intends on playing in the Chhattisgarh league.

Mata Rukmani FC played in Indian Women League and earned the admiration of everyone | Image: IWL

"They did not have a coach and were not able to understand how to deal with the regulations required to run a team. Saini sir told me that he approached a few others who were asking for a hefty amount. I understood their eagerness to participate in the Chhattisgarh league. So, I along with two coaches decided to visit the ashram."

Mahapatra went on to describe his first-hand experience with the ashram. He witnessed the difficulties the girls faced in coping with their training regimes. But Mahapatra was impressed with their attitude. He said:

"All these girls are locals of Bastar, which is a Maoist-dominated region of Chhattisgarh. Inside the ashram, most houses still have thatched roofs. They don’t even have proper toilets. We conducted sessions for two days and initially felt that they could not do the needful.

"The girls could not even complete five touches of the ball within 30 yards. On the second day, I put them through some real grind. 3-4 girls ended up vomiting and some of them even fainted. But they did not give up.

"Even after the physical discomfort, they kept coming back to attend the sessions. This moved me. The girls had a 'never back down' attitude. They showed character and determination, which is very important in football."

"After deciding to move ahead with the plan, we approached Tauji regarding the financials and he told us that they had no money for it. At that point, we realized that it was going to cost us to create a team, train them and prepare them for the league.

"There was a huge risk involved with the project given the expenses and at that point, the girls weren’t capable of playing in a football match. But I loved their desire to keep going and could not resist. So, within three days of returning from Bastar, I called up Tauji and informed him of my decision to go ahead with the plan."

Building the Mata Rukmani FC team from the scratch

Jayadev Mahapatra assigned his coaches with the responsibility of training these young girls with the hopes of making an impact in the Chhattisgarh League. But the task at hand wasn't easy.

Mata Rukmani FC team going through preparations before a match | Image: AIFF Twitter

The coaches did not get proper accommodation and had to make-do with an abandoned structure. Shedding light on the Mata Rukmani team's preparations, Mahapatra said:

"I have been lucky to have had coaches who had my back. They could not stay in the ashram because it was a girl’s ashram. Just outside the ashram, there was a government school, which was just a rickety structure.

"There wasn’t any electricity or water supply in that school. But the coaches stayed there for the next 6 months and continued training these girls. You have to go and visit the place to believe how it is.

"When we started playing in the Chhattisgarh League, we started off with a bang. We won matches with huge goal difference and after bagging three wins on the trot, the team eventually grabbed headlines."

Mata Rukmani FC's performance in the Chhattigarh League grabbed the attention of Mr. Narender Goyal, who was born in Jagdalpur. He turned out to be a savior for the side as they leapt from one hurdle to another, making it to the IWL.

"The girls managed to win the league without any draws or losses along the way. The MoU was then signed with Goyal Group as promised and decided to take care of the coaches’ salary as well as the equipment.

"Mr. Goyal promised to take care of the facilities these girls used and made sure they were upgraded for the better."

Mata Rukmani FC was a team based around girls from the ashram. Mahapatra said:

"One of the things we stuck by is that we did not recruit any players from outside the ashram. We stuck to the group we had from the beginning, even though some of the players missed the league due to exams. But we made it to the objective we had set for ourselves i.e., to make an impact."

Touching upon the challenges Jayadev Mahapatra faced in working with young girls interested in football, he stated that the problem is within society, irrespective of class.

Mata Rukmani FC had a tough time in IWL but showed fighting spirit | Image: IWL

"Society has been unfair to women of every class, irrespective of rich or poor. What I see in football is that you won’t easily come across places where a girl is playing football and the general perception is that they can’t play.

"I do not understand the reason behind this. In upper-class societies, girls are allowed to take dance lessons or maybe painting and or music. They are allowed to be artists, but even if a girl is into football, it is difficult to convince the family about it.

"Even in schools, there is no football team for girls. This is one reason why we have a smaller number of girls in grassroots football. For lower-class families, the story is a little different. We often get young girls starting in our academies but stop midway.

"Both the parents are off to earn bread for the family and the girl is burdened with the responsibility of taking care of the house."

He added how it is necessary to create heroes amongst women that spurs families to take notice of their own children's dreams. Mata Rukamani FC's Sulekha dazzled everyone during the IWL after which media personnel flooded her home.

The craze shown by the local media after Mata Rukmani FC's participation in the IWL scared her parents because they haven't been in such situations.

The story of Mata Rukmani FC is one of the most inspiring and heart-warming in the annals of Indian sports. It is one that should inspire many more to search for talents in India's hinterland and change lives through sport.