NEW DELHI: 25 young female footballers sharing seven rooms in a Noida apartment doesn’t paint a pretty picture, does it? Along with the staff, they cook their food, train every day, and live like a family. This is the home of Garhwal FC, a women’s team from Delhi that just completed an unbeaten domestic season, winning all 24 of their matches across three tournaments.Even when big sponsors, camps abroad or a share of the spotlight are alien to them, their coach Akshay Unni’s five-year plan to lead Garhwal FC to the top division, Indian Women’s League (IWL), has come to fruition a year before schedule, culminating in an inspirational four years from finishing second-last in the Delhi Women’s League to now preparing to go toe-toe with the best teams in the country.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Despite a “very bad” back injury ending his playing days and forcing him to work in a corporate job, Akshay eventually chose to follow his passion.Troubled with the pain of his injury, even after opting for a career far from the football pitch, Akshay says, “If I have to suffer anyway, why not do something I love?” “From day one, it was not just about football. It was about making better people. If we get that right, football becomes easier to teach,” Akshay, who started working with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools (BBFS) back in 2017, coaching kids aged 6 to 10 and later training the IIT Delhi football team, adds. From qualifying for the Indian Women’s League to not dropping a single game, the side has scripted history in its own way, almost eight years after Akshay made the switch from advertising to football coaching.
‘No one told me what to do’
It all started in 2021, when Akshay got the opportunity to take charge of the Garhwal FC women’s team, a BBFS-affiliated club. With a minute budget of Rs. 10–15k, he kicked off his journey. “But I was given full freedom,” he recalls. “No one told me what to do. They just said, ‘It’s yours. Build it.’”Though, the results did not follow the anticipation, with the team finishing second-last in the league that year. BBFS had centres across India, and in them, he saw the potential to build a team that stood a fighting chance.
Garhwal FC (Special arrangements)
Fast forward to another season, and the team finished second in the Delhi League. “The girls had to travel 2–3 hours to reach training,” he remembers. “We didn’t have the best accommodation. But we had belief. And the girls knew — wherever they went, we went with them. That trust kept us going.”In 2023, when Garhwal FC came heartbreakingly close to qualifying for the second division of the Indian Women’s League (IWL), captain Sanfida Nongrum, a 20-year-old midfielder, echoed the same drive and determination, akin to the rest of her teammates.Speaking to TimesofIndia.com, the No. 10 said, “In 2023, we lost by one point because we took it very casually. We learnt from that. I’m glad that we lost, because we got to learn.”She highlighted the L&D (Learning and Discussion) sessions, a two-hour session every Wednesday, where the CEO, Kishore Taid, comes to have discussions on ownership, honesty, trust, happiness, and anyone can ask anything. The change in mindset wasn’t just restricted to their captain. The other players, too, made changes. They gave up junk food, cut down on sugar and limited their screen time to under two hours per day for four months.
A Noida residence, melting pot of cultures
With players from across the country, their residence in Noida is a melting pot of cultures. Sanifda, who only learnt Hindi in the last six months or so, now also knows a lot of Bihari, owing to the songs played on loop by her friend and teammate Shruti, who is from Bihar.The 2024 season is where everything clicked for them. Garhwal FC won all 24 matches they played across the Delhi Futsal League, Delhi Women’s League, and IWL 2. To put their dominance and technical superiority into context, it is the respective state champions that participate in the IWL 2, where they played 8, won all 8, scored 28 and conceded just once.
Garhwal FC (Special arrangements)
Striker Lhingdeikim ended the season as top scorer, bagging an impressive 12 goals in the IWL 2 and as many in the Delhi Women’s League.What’s more? Many of the players who joined as teenagers are now 18, and seven of them are in India’s U-21 team. “What was the first vision? We can actually develop young girls to develop this club and make them reach India level,” the manager explains.When asked about what the toughest part of his team’s inspirational journey was, ‘staying consistent’ was the immediate answer. “It’s easy to say you’ll quit sugar or train every day. But after two days, you realise it’s difficult. That’s the hard part,” he notes.
‘When the period hits, it’s difficult’
As a coach, his role isn’t restricted to the pitch and training sessions either. “Everybody came from different backgrounds, so we had girls from 10 states. They will be motivated for 20 days of the month, but when the period hits, it’s going to be difficult. For the first 2-3 days, you will have to let them cut off, and you cannot push them when they aren’t at their best,” the coach adds. “Three or four girls cry in front of me every other day. My job as a coach or my team’s job as staff officials was to, without scolding them or being hard on them, how can we make them understand,” added Akshay.
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Now, Garhwal are preparing for their biggest challenge yet, competing in the Indian Women’s League. It’s a tougher format with home and away matches and considerably stronger teams.After all, in the coach’s words, to teach them (his players) to be good human beings is the priority. Playing good football is a by-product.
