Key Points

Manisha was the cynosure of all eyes at the ASMITA under-13 league for girls here at Nehru Stadium on Friday. The 23-year-old forward, the only Indian footballer to have played in the UEFA Champions League for women, said ASMITA is a "rare platform for young girls to realise their football dreams."

"I am still dreaming of playing in the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics and after we qualified for the AFC Women's Asian Cup in Australia next year, our belief has been bolstered. You now have a platform like ASMITA and the more quality matches you play, the better you will get," the 23-year-old Manisha told the eight teams taking part in the Guwahati leg of ASMITA aimed at scouting talent at the grassroots level across India.

Manisha was present alongside two emerging talents from Assam - Rekha Kataki and Dosomi Rowtia. Both Rekha and Dosomi are products of the ASMITA league and making their presence felt in Assam football in a major way. While Dosomi has made it to the national camp, Rekha has captained North East United Football Club 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. This only shows how much talent is present here. Maybe, five years from now, one of these kids will play for Assam and then India. Just work hard and only think about football. The ecosystem is surely developing and with the government's support, we can only do better," said Punjab-girl Manisha.

ASMITA's sports activities are growing each year. In the Northeast 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 Northeast India is a focus area for the Union sports ministry. Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has already announced that a Northeast-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. She is the only Indian woman to have scored a goal against Brazil in an international football tournament in November 2021.

- IANS