The football pitch at the Ambedkar Stadium has seen better days. Unseasonal rain drenched the field and there were several sopping wet patches on Saturday, when the inaugural AIFF Indian Women's League (IWL) kicked off. The first of two matches saw players slipping and sliding in the mud. AIFF women's player of the year Sasmita Malik also complained about the quality of the turf.
The final whistle of the day blew with the scoresheet declaring Eastern Sporting Union 7-1 winners over Jeppiaar Institute of Technology. The players went over to the sidelines of the pitch at the Ambedkar Stadium to stretch. Oinam Bembem Devi bent over to touch the tricky turf and then brought her hands to her head. That's always been her habit, she jokes.
Bembem was India's seniormost women's footballer when she retired after winning a gold medal at the South Asian Games in Shillong last February. It was the culmination of a 21-year career with 84 international caps and 32 goals. But she's back from retirement in the inaugural edition of the IWL.
Bembem says she has long argued for a women's league along the lines of the men's tournament, the I-League. When the venture finally got off the ground this year, she knew she had to be part of it. Bembem believes the league -- currently comprising six teams -- has the potential to grow a lot bigger. "This year we have a club from the I-League which is sending a women's team [Aizawl FC] and another from the ISL [Pune City]," she says. "In the future perhaps a lot more clubs will get a chance to send their women's teams."
Not that it was easy for her to participate. "I didn't get a lot of time to play together with the team," she says. "The team was together for perhaps a month but I only got 15 days together. I wasn't able to get leave from my job in the Manipur Police until then."
The league though was long overdue. Apart from the nationals and a handful of club tournaments, there are just not enough opportunities to go around. All age groups of Indian players are up for spots in the IWL. Indeed Bembem, at 36 the oldest in the league, was substituted out by Sweety Ngangbam who represents India in the U-16 age group.
And the lack of experience is how AIFF Academies director Steve O'Donnell, who was watching from the stands with members of the U-17 Indian team, explains the lack of flopping from players who are brought down in play. "They simply get up and start running," he says with a laugh. "Unlike the men they haven't played a lot of games to know that when you fall, you roll around and pretend to be really hurt so you can win a foul."
Bembem says the league will provide youngsters an opportunity her generation never got. "A lot of the youngsters are worried about playing at the senior level," she says. "They don't know how they will cope. Before the league (Eastern Sporting Union teammate) Kashmina told me, 'Didi ke saath kaise khelungi (How will I play with you)?' I told her not to think of me as a senior player. By playing matches against players who may be older than them, their fear goes away."
While the league is a new experience for many of the players, Bembem has some idea of what it's all about. In 2014, she became the first female footballer from India to play abroad while turning out for New Radiant Sports Club in the Maldives. Not only did she help them to the league title, she also finished as top scorer in the league, earning the player of the tournament award.
"It was a great experience to play in the Maldives," she says. "We had players from India, Pakistan and some from Europe as well. It was a truly international tournament."
But having played in the Maldives, Bembem also understands where the IWL must do better. The first day in Delhi was marked by sparse crowds. "In Maldives, the stadium was a lot smaller but it was packed," she says. "We haven't got the kind of support that we might have got in Manipur. I hope in the next couple of seasons we will be able to have home and away matches."
Despite the shortcomings, Bembem knows the league is a boon, and not just for the players. Having retired as an international athlete, she is looking to make a mark as a coach. She got her B-licence in 2015 and has registered for an A-level licence. "I was serving as an assistant coach with the Indian team at the training camp in Hoshiarpur from January 6 to 22," she says. "I will be looking to do my A-level course soon. I'm playing in this league as a player but also doubling as a coach. The league is giving me very useful experience, especially with the players who are still quite young. Perhaps I won't be playing in this league next year but I hope to come back as a coach."