football

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Tribal girls are kicking conventional norms through football

The defiant all-women football team in rural West Bengal is winning hearts for their skills and resilience, and also bridging the gender divide.

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Manipur’s transmen’s football team transforms lives

Ya_All, a UN-recognised LGBTI+ youth-led organisation in Imphal, Manipur, symbolises resilience and inclusivity in Northeast India. This groundbreaking initiative goes beyond sports, making a significant impact.

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Manipuri film ‘Andro Dreams’ dribbles past gender stereotype

Filmmaker Meena Longjam’s ‘Andro Dreams’ breaks the mould of sports films, offering a nuanced perspective on a Manipur village, challenging societal norms through the lens of an all-girls football team.

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Women ‘rise up’ to fight drug menace in Kerala

Distressed by the rampant drug abuse and alcoholism among local youth, women of Vattappankadu village get together to run a counselling programme to wean them away.

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Football bridges social divides in Odisha village of Lodhas

In a village in Odisha where dominant tribal groups had set unwritten rules of divisive boundaries, a unique social transformation of inclusion is taking place through football.

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Young football coach helps girls kick their way to empowerment

From a stone hurled at her to being locked up by her family, teen Muskan Kumari endured pain. But her passion for football is taking her places.

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Mizoram’s soccer-struck footballers are on the ball

Football has been an integral part of Mizoram since the British introduced the game here over a century ago. This millennium, the small northeastern state has become the cradle of football, producing a bunch of talented players.

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Trials and tribulations of Manipur’s six-a-side football

Popularity of football matches with lesser number of players are at its peak in Ukhrul district of Manipur despite state and national federations decreeing against it.

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Manipur youngster tackles life’s odds to scorch football pitch

Scolded often for neglecting studies and obsessing over football in earlier times, Hormipam Ruivah from Manipur today plays for Kerala Blasters and is a sporting icon.

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Santhal girls shatter social taboo playing football

Teenaged Santhal girls in West Bengal have taken to football despite facing community antagonism. They hope that the sport would deliver them from poor socioeconomic shackles

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Girls join football clubs to resist child marriages in rural Bihar

Once topping the charts in child marriages in the country, Bihar has reduced the incidence of this social evil considerably, helped by innovative interventions such as starting girls clubs for solidarity and encouraging them to play football