A-Leagues football coaches impressed by potential for Indian women’s football

Leading A-Leagues football coaches have revealed the huge potential for Indian women’s football, after a week-long training camp in Kolkata.

Western United’s Mark Torcaso, the A-League Women’s coach of the year, and Adelaide United’s Adrian Stenta led the Women In Sports Elite Trails, featuring 29 of India’s top female players. They were joined by rising NPLW coach Peter Rakic (Perth SC) and coaches from Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) and Marbella (Spain).

The coaches also ran a hugely successful grassroots clinic for 33 kids aged 6-14, with acting Australian Consulate-General to Kolkata Kevin Goh also attending, and distributing footballs and Matildas jerseys to local players. The Australian coaching delegation was arranged by Bruce Media, and Women In Sport organiser Anuj Kichlu declared it a huge success.

“The camp was a resounding success. In total 29 girls enjoyed the camp and so did we thanks to the commitment from our Australian coaches,” said Kichlu, a director with Best of You, a leading Madrid-based sports agency with an office in Kolkata.

“We hope that this will open up the door for a number of these players to trial and potentially sign contracts in places around the world, including Australia, with the ultimate aim of improving the quality of women’s football in India. We are confident plenty of female players will now be able to avail this opportunity and practice and play football

8-10 months a year.

“It was exciting to hear about the progress of women’s football in Australia, just weeks out from the 2023 FIFA World Cup

“We spoke about a number of potential projects and collaborations moving forward and I also believe that government tie ups at all levels are possible as it is beneficial to both countries as well as to the sport itself.”

Bruce Media’s sports diplomacy adviser Robbie Gaspar said football and sports diplomacy were keys to unlocking the enormous potential between Australia and India.

“We were thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with Women In Sports, the AMPL Foundation, and the Football Players Association of India. Together, we sent three exceptionally qualified coaches from the Australian women’s space to Kolkata,” Gaspar said.

“Our primary goal was to forge stronger connections between Indian and Australian football, with a particular emphasis on advancing women's football in India. We also aimed to foster diplomatic and cultural ties between India and Australia through this ground-breaking sports diplomacy mission.

“In addition to the successful sessions and clinics, we were also honoured to have the presence of Kevin Goh, the acting Australian Consulate-General to Kolkata, who joined the coaches and players during the clinic.

“At Bruce Media, we firmly believe that football or sports diplomacy holds a unique power to strengthen people-to-people links and cultivate a sustainable, mutually beneficial relationship in the area of women's football.”

Western United coach Torcaso was impressed with the talent and application of the Indian talent, which ranged from ages 18 to 30, and revealed that some could make their way to Australia.

“It was a fantastic week in Kolkata and it was wonderful to see the local Indian talent on display and we enjoyed our football and cultural experience,” Torcaso said.

“There is great potential there and we had some positive conversations about how we can help lift the standard of women’s football in India.

“We discussed the possibility of some players coming to Australia, along with my fellow Aussie coaches, so we will explore those opportunities in the NPLW (Calder United) or A-League Women’s.

“It was fantastic to represent Western United Football Club, after our inaugural Liberty A-League season.”

Bruce Media are exploring the possibility of bringing an Indian Super League team for an Australian tour in January, to coincide with the Socceroos-India 2024 Asian Cup opener on January 13.