‘Hindered by lot of factors’: Veteran goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan analyses India’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup performance

October 2022 was a month of football bonanza in India as the Asian country held its first-ever FIFA women’s football tournament — the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. To make it more dramatic, there were some interesting plot twists in the journey, kick started by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The tournament was scheduled to be held in 2020, but got cancelled due to the coronavirus after which India were appointed as the hosts of the next edition of the competition in 2022. To make matters worse, in August 2022 it was announced that the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) was suspended by FIFA due to undue influence from third parties, and then the international body stripped India off its hosting rights. However, AIFF soon resolved its issues and its administration regained control of daily affair to get reinstated by FIFA, this clearing the path to host the tournament.

The Indian team were placed in Group A with USA, Brazil and Morocco. They began their campaign on October 11, but crashed to a heavy 0-8 defeat against USA, followed by a 0-3 loss against Morocco. In their final group stage encounter, they were routed by Brazil, who won 5-0 in Bhubaneswar. Speaking to Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview, Aditi Chauhan, India’s 30-year-old goalkeeper, explained that despite the defeats, the U-17 team’s results ‘got better with every game’. The former West Ham United player also felt that the team’s preparations were hindered by a lot of factors including the Covid-19 pandemic, while pointing out that the whole purpose of hosting the World Cup was to give exposure to the young girls.

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Aditi, currently a commentator and studio expert with Sports18 and JioCinema for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, feels that the India U-17 players need to be guided and provided with good infrastructure and facilities, something she believes is still missing in India. When asked about her favourite players from the point, she pointed out that Anita Kumari and Lynda Kom were impressive and confident with the ball.

Here are the excerpts of the Indian goalkeeper’s analysis:

What do you think about India’s performance in the recent U17 Women’s World Cup?

India’s performance in the recent U-17 world cup, I think got better with every game. Of course, it was great exposure and a great platform for these young girls to get this experience to play against the best around the world. Of course, there are a lot of things that these players must have learned and I’m sure it will be a very important lesson in their professional careers, and we could see the improvement in every game. After the first game against USA, they only got better and even after the World Cup after all the matches when I spoke to these girls, they were only happy and glad that they got this opportunity and that’s what is important. I think a structured plan and approach to develop these girls and keep pushing them forward and trying to get them better is what should be the aim. I hope there is a proper plan and structure for these girls to keep improving and get better.

Why do you think the team failed to win a single game in the World Cup and were completely outplayed in every department by opposition teams?

I don’t think it’s fair to compare and say that the team failed to win, they couldn’t manage to win but I don’t think it’s fair thing to expect them to win these matches because if you compare the kind of planning, the kind of infrastructure and everything available to the girls in the other countries is much different even for the U-17 boys when we hosted the U-17 boys World Cup – the team had prepared for four years before we hosted the World Cup and even then they couldn’t manage to win a single game. Here these girls and their preparation was hindered by a lot of factors including Covid-19 that was hit in the middle of their preparation. They could not play a lot of competitive games, could not train throughout the year and barely had a couple of months to prepare for this U-17 World Cup.

So, I don’t think the whole picture is shared and is presented to everyone around, we cannot only judge by their performance in the U-17 world cup we also have to look back at their preparation and ask questions if the team was well prepared and they had all the right infrastructure and facilities to actually win any match in the U-17 World Cup. So, I think these are the important points that need to be pointed out and should be highlighted to everyone because these girls come from very underprivileged backgrounds and they don’t have the right facilities to train throughout the year or at the right age – barely have food, barely have any facilities at their home. They struggle to make their ends meet and then you expect for these young girls to compete against the best in the world. I don’t think it’s a fair assumption and a fair thing to expect from these girls. The whole purpose of hosting the World Cup was to give this exposure to these girls who then use this experience and help develop their skills.

Did any player from the Indian team catch your eye? If yes, why and what made her stand out?

I think there are a lot of young bright stars in that U-17 team but they need to be guided, they need to be provided with proper infrastructure and facilities which is still missing in India. There is no pathway or a plan for these girls to be in the system and keep improving and I was hoping that there is a legacy plan attached with this U-17 team. I hope there is one because this exposure and this opportunity will only be useful when they are constantly working on getting better and improving. Each player I think put up a good performance and showed improvement in every game. A couple of players who I think did good were Anita and Lynda Kom in the midfield, she looked impressive and confident with the ball.

Do you feel the Indian football ecosystem has improved in terms of finding talent?

I think it’s gotten better for sure Indian Football ecosystem in terms of finding talents has gotten better. But there’s still a lot that can be done and that should be done because there is talent in small places – there are upcoming cities and towns that are producing good talent, but I feel it’s not about just finding the talent but also grooming that talent in the right way by providing them the right environment and ecosystem for them to blossom and I think that is where we are missing. Even when we find the talent even with these U-17 girls, what’s next? What’s the next plan with these U-17 girls? Are they training regularly, have they been provided with a proper strength and conditioning environment, coaches, training facilities, and nutrition, all of these I think are still missing and it can get a lot better, and it should only then be able to improve.

Most players from the 2017 Men’s U-17 World Cup failed to cement a place in the senior national team and also took time to get regular time in club football. Why do you think that happened and how do you think that can be prevented for this batch of Women U-17 players?

U-17 Men’s World Cup or Women’s World Cup – the players who are part of the U17 team, they are of different age groups. They can be fifteen, sixteen or seventeen years old. But when you talk about the senior team – it needs a lot more experience, the standard of football is much higher, it’s much more competitive, the tempo of the game is higher and it’s more physical. So, for these kids to be a part of the senior team, it’s going to take time, a lot of experience and playing time to be able to compete at that level. It’s not easy – you will not see any of the U-17 players anywhere in the world to immediately get a place in the senior team, there are barely one or two kids who manage to get in the senior team and get a few minutes in the game. So even when they have made it to the U-17 team, to make it to the senior team you need a lot of experience.

If you take an example, even with the World Cup that is going on right now you will barely see only a few players who are eighteen, nineteen or twenty who make it to the senior team and are playing. Those are the exceptional talents – those are the talents we are saying could be the superstars of tomorrow. If you talk about a country like India obviously our grassroots level is not as refined or up to the mark compared to the other top countries. So, for the Indian players to be able to match this standard that is required for a senior team – it is going to take time and that is why the players, whether it’s the boys or the girls, even after their U-17 World Cup experience – they will need to still keep working on themselves, need to earn the experience and get better to make their place in the senior team.

How is your experience in the expert panel of the ongoing World Cup?

I am really enjoying my experience as an expert on the panel for the World Cup – it is giving me a different perspective, helping me and allowing me to follow the World Cup more closely this time. It’s obviously very special, it’s made this World Cup really special for me and I am glad that I am getting positive feedback from people who are hearing my commentary or watching our studio. It is always good to know that you are doing a good job and that you are able to make this global sport easier for people in India to understand and access. So, it’s made this World Cup really special for me.