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India’s star footballer Manisha Kalyan said she harbours the dream of playing in the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics, a belief that has been bolstered by the national team’s qualification for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia next year.
Manisha, the only Indian to play in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, was the cynosure of all eyes at the ASMITA under-13 girls’ league held at the Nehru Stadium here on Friday. She described ASMITA as “a rare platform for young girls to realise their football dreams.”
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Addressing the eight participating teams in the Guwahati leg, the 23-year-old shared her personal aspirations and the growing confidence within the Indian national setup.
“I am still dreaming of playing in the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics. After we qualified for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia next year, our belief has grown stronger,” she said.
Looking back on India’s win against Thailand in the Asian Cup qualifiers, she added, “I’m extremely proud of my teammates. The spirit is great and we want to carry the same mindset to the Asian Cup. Hopefully, we will qualify for the World Cup. We are mentally prepared for it.”
Manisha also revealed her ambition to feature in top leagues across France, Spain and Latin America in the near future.
Reflecting on her European stint, she said, “My way of looking at football has changed. I have matured as a player. I have faced stronger, technically sound players from America and Colombia, and that has helped me grow.”
The Hoshiarpur-born striker also highlighted a key structural gap in Indian football.
“In Europe, football is played year-round with matches every week. In India, we lack that. The IWL lasts only two to three weeks,” she observed.
Joining her at the event were promising local talents Rekha Kataki and Dosomi Rowtia, both alumni of the ASMITA league. Dosomi has earned a call-up to the national camp, while Rekha led NorthEast United FC in the Indian Women’s League Division 2.
Along with the trio, 2017 AIBA Youth World Boxing champion Ankushita Boxer was also present on the occasion, accompanied by her coach Trideep Bora.
“Football is in the genes of North-East people. Eleven of my senior national teammates are from this region. Five years from now, one of these kids may play for Assam and then India. Just work hard and only think about football,” Manisha advised the youngsters.
ASMITA’s sports activities are growing each year. In the North-east alone, football leagues have increased five-fold since the 2022-23 season. In 2024-25, 25 different football leagues were played under the sports ministry’s ‘Sports for Women’ scheme with 1615 girls taking part. This financial year 2025-26, 852 ASMITA leagues have been planned in 15 sports disciplines, targeting more than 70,000 women athletes in all States/ UTs of the country.
Sports in the Northeast is a focus area for the ministry, with Union Sports minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, having already announced that a North-East-specific Games will be added to the Khelo India calendar.
“That will be a great addition. Not only football, this region is contributing to all sports and to give them more exposure is the right way to go,” said Manisha, who has played professionally in Cyprus and Greece, and is the lone Indian woman to have scored a goal against Brazil in an international football tournament in November 2021.
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