India’s star footballer Manisha Kalyan has set her sights on the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Olympics, saying the team’s historic qualification for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia next year has boosted their belief.
The 23-year-old forward, the only Indian woman to feature in the UEFA Champions League, interacted with budding footballers during the Guwahati leg of the ASMITA U-13 league for girls at Nehru Stadium on Friday.
“You now have a platform like ASMITA. The more quality matches you play, the better you will get,” Manisha told the eight participating teams. “Five years from now, one of you could be playing for Assam and then India. Just work hard and only think about football.”
Hailing from Punjab, Manisha was joined by two emerging Assam talents — Rekha Kataki and Dosomi Rowtia — both products of the ASMITA programme. Dosomi has earned a call-up to the national camp, while Rekha captained North East United FC in the Indian Women’s League Division 2.
“Football is in the genes of North-East people. I grew up watching Bala Devi, and now 11 of my colleagues in the senior national team are from this region. The ecosystem is surely developing and with government support, we can only do better,” Manisha said.
ASMITA, part of the sports ministry’s ‘Sports for Women’ scheme, has expanded rapidly in the Northeast, with football leagues increasing five-fold since 2022-23. In 2024-25, 25 leagues involving 1,615 girls were organised. For 2025-26, 852 leagues across 15 sports disciplines are planned nationwide, targeting over 70,000 women athletes.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has announced a Northeast-specific Games under the Khelo India calendar — a move Manisha welcomed. “That will be a great addition. Not only football, this region is contributing to all sports and giving them more exposure is the right way to go,” she said.
Manisha, who has played professionally in Cyprus and Greece, remains the only Indian woman to have scored against Brazil in an international match, achieving the feat in November 2021.
