Breaking the Gender Barrier, One Goal at a Time

Sadhika Saha, Kolkata:  While Kolkata maybe known for its love for football, it is on very rare occasions that one spots women casually taking control of the football in this city. Upon the request of the final year girl students, The Heritage Academy hosted its first ever Women’s Cup on 11th April 2022, which was not only wholeheartedly welcomed by both the Professors and the Principal Prof. (Dr.) Gour Banerjee of The Heritage Academy but the overwhelming participation from the women pertaining to all batches made this event an annual affair.

Professor Banerjee stated during the inauguration of the event, “When the request was made before me, I was delighted to learn about how passionate they are about this game. I’m very happy to see that the students of this college are breaking stereotypes and taking action towards sports. The Heritage Academy is glad to be able to provide a platform that promotes and encourages women’s participation in sports.”

The tournament was carried out following the knockout system. Physical Education teachers from The Heritage School - Mr. Sanjeev and Mr. Sunil volunteered as referees to judge the matches closely. Each team consisted of 5 members (excluding the substitutes) and 7 teams participated in total from the three departments – BBA, BCA, and BMS. The matches had a time limit of 10 minutes following which a penalty kick shoot-out took place in a situation of a tie.

The Women’s Cup was one of the activities that were conducted during the Fresher’s week as a means of ice-breaking amongst the first, second, and third years who are meeting for the first time this semester after the lockdown periods of the pandemic. Following the success of Women’s football, The Heritage Academy is looking forward to host more sports tournament for women. What better way to promote fraternity than sports!