With BOSM right around the corner, the BOSM English Press sat down for a chat with the Captain of the Girls’ Football team, Anusha Mishra. 

Football is a team sport which involves two teams of eleven players each, wherein players try to kick the ball into nets placed at opposite ends of the field. However, the girls’ football matches that will be played during BOSM will have two teams of only seven players playing. While the exact dynamic of the team has not yet been decided, the team aims to have it sorted out in the days leading up to BOSM.

Like most players in the team, Anusha started playing football during her school life but stopped playing in higher grades due to academic commitments. Having not played in years, she mentions that most players have been struggling with stamina and rusty technique. Their current training regime therefore puts emphasis on effective warm up, building stamina and ironing out the kinks in their technique.

Anusha claimed that finding players to build a girls football team has always been a challenge. The team is mostly made up of players recruited by the captain through the grapevine. This is because very few girls actually show up for the trials. ‘I like consistency. Consistency is the thing for me. If you don’t show up for practice, I can’t trust you with the ball,’ said Anusha when asked about what kind of players she likes to have in her team. 

As the captain, she struggles to find girls enthusiastic enough to devote a significant amount of time to the game. As a result, the playing seven is usually made up of the seven most consistent players. She trusts the girls around her to have her back and therefore, does not feel the pressure of being the captain while on the field.

Anusha claimed to have had no problem with the authorities or the Institute and believes that they have been quite supportive. On the other hand, the student community often mocks the team. ‘People don’t think of girls’ football as a very huge thing in our college,’ she lamented. Despite this, the team continues to practice hard and will give their best during BOSM.