A bigil moment for this Tamil Nadu all-girls football club

Everyone who follows football was thrilled when a hitherto unheard club’s team – Sethu FC - from Tamil Nadu beat Manipur for the first time in the Indian Women’s League final and brought home the cup in 2019. Not only did this feat turn the heads of football pundits, but also of one of the most well-known film directors in K-Town – Atlee Kumar. Obviously then, a feature film on this bunch of girls was pretty much on the cards.And that’s how, as we all know, Bigil, heroed by actor Vijay, got made.
The team of Sethu FC, the current champions of Indian Women’s League, is no less thrilled that they’ve inspired a film. But before all that, what do we know about the team? Tamil Nadu’s first all-girls football team, Sethu FC, has its roots in Madurai – it was founded by M Seeni Mohaideen in 2016. His mission then was just to inspire women in Tamil Nadu to become football aficionados – little did he know that one day his team will be one of the most sought after names in the football circuit. Mohaideen, who’s actually the owner of a private engineering college in Virudhunagar, tells us, “Sethu Men’s Football Club was established in 2003 and many of our players have represented the state team, but when I was appointed the Chairman of Women's Committee of the Tamil Nadu Football Association, I started toying with the idea of funding an all-girls' football team. One fine day, the club was born, and ready to play, and we joined the Indian Women Football league for playing in the 2017-18 season. We reached the semifinals that year. Then in 2018-19, we clinched the title without losing a single game in the tournament showing our dominance in the Indian football circuit.”
So, how did the Bigil team come to know of them? Mohaideen recalls, “When we were on a winning spree in the tournament, director Atlee’s assistants met us during one of the matches and spoke about the idea of making a film with Vijay and the team. Initially, they wanted some of our players from the current squad to act in the film. This was absolutely out of the question as the young ones are in the sparkling years of their career, and some have academic obligations as well. Once we were clear about that, we helped them to get contacts of some senior players who are little away from the game at the moment. They gave the movie makers insights and details about a football player’s life – some of them have also acted in the film. We coached all the actresses who were not professional footballers for two months – it was fruitful, for they looked great on the screen. Our real physio played the role of the physio in the film.”
“The only thing that I missed in the film is,” says Mohaideen, “instead of naming me in the credit roll, had they shown/named some of our players from the winning team, it would have been a big exposure for our players who are underexposed to the media at the moment.”
The club has four sets of teams - Under-13, Under-15, Under-18 and a Senior team that plays in the league. We chanced upon the Under-18 team at Madurai during a practice session. The team comprises 12 players, including Kowsalya Sivasami, Archana Arumugam, Pavithra Murugesan and Devi Devarajan – all of whom have attended the Indian Camp, and are a part of the winning team.
“We scout schools all over Tamil Nadu and pick the best players and fund them to hone their skills,” says Ramya Ilangovan, one of the coaches in the club. Among the 45 girls, 20 study at Lady Doak College in Madurai and 25 at Annamalai University in Chidambaram. “Girls, who are really talented, but face financial constraints to take their game further, are allowed to play, enjoy and learn the game along with academics in our club,” says Ramya, who has played for Sethu FC. Archana, who hails from Chennai and is the goalkeeper of the winning team from Sethu FC, tells us, “We are fortunate to be a part of the Club and it is a great opportunity to play with big players in the league matches.”
Among the players, Kowsalya and Devi belong to families of tsunami survivors from Cuddalore. They lost all their belongings in the disaster, but now, are creating ripples in the Indian Football Camp, all thanks to Sethu FC. When asked about their inspiration, Devi said she loves Sweety Devi – the current star defender of Indian Women’s Football team, who had played for Sethu FC last year, while Kowsalaya quips, “As Vijay says in the film, I love to be the best of me.” Archana tells us she gets carried away whenever she watches Ashalata Devi of Sethu FC play in a game. “She is the most fearless defender I have ever seen on the ground,” says Archana. And for Pavithra, it is their Captain Indumathi Kathiresan, who led Sethu FC to its glory, that inspires her to better her game.
When asked about the scenario of women’s football in Tamil Nadu, Mohaideen tells us that it is getting bigger by the day, as the quality of players churned out by the state has been quite good, and that a large number of players have made it nationally big in recent years. “In the last couple of years, on an average, six to seven girls from our state have attended the Indian Camp,” adds Mohaideen.
He is also quick to point out that in recent years, women’s football has been faring better than the men’s in the state. However, the state lags in helping us with the much-needed infrastructure, as well as sources of income for the players in terms of job opportunities. “For instance, when a player from the state team of Manipur does well, their government assures they get a govt job, but in Tamil Nadu, many national level players also find themselves in dire straits once they hang up their boots,” says Mohaideen.
“It is the constant changing of sports secretaries that haunts us because none of our demands reaches them, and by the time some process is put in place, if at all, they are changed,” adds Mohaideen, who also points out, “Many of the national-level matches are held outside the state because we lack good stadiums and the wherewithal to hold matches. We must choose four major cities in the state and construct quality grounds with artificial turfs. We cannot manage grass turfs due to water shortage.”
But the most positive change that Mohaideen says he perceives is that of the mindset of parents, who are now readily allowing their girls to play anywhere in the country without fear. Even in the rural pockets of the state, parents are interested in sending their girls to the ground, says Mohaideen. “Currently, one of our players, B.Mariammal from Namakkal, is representing Team India in the Under 17 World Cup, which is a great achievement. And Sethu FC is now gearing up for the Khelo India Football league and the next season of Hero Indian Women’s League. So, all the best to us,” signs off Mohaideen.