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In an interview, she discusses the future of women in the sport.
1. What made you take up refereeing? Were you already playing football before you started refereeing?
I always had a dream to represent India in football. But the opportunities for a player from a state like Maharashtra were less. Get recognized by scouts was getting difficult and at the very time when I felt like I was playing well and performing well the national tournaments disappeared for 3 years. Not being able to fulfill one of my many dreams I felt like it was time to do something different. To do something that would #MakeItHappen. I consulted a friend of mine who was also a referee and very soon I gave my name and wrote my exam at Bombay Referees’ Association and started my refereeing career.
2. What has been your experience like till now? From the 1st match you did to your one of your latest/best matches you have done?
I remember officiating my 1st match – a U-14 girls match at MSSA. I did not have a proper refereeing uniform yet, so I wore an Orange Jersey I had, and started doing the match. I did not have any clue about how to run what position to take. I knew my basic signaling and hand gestures to give for fouls, throws, goal kicks, etc. Now thinking of one of the most competitive matches I did, I officiated a friendly match between Pune FC and ONGC at Cooperage stadium. The match kicked off at 9am in the grueling heat. Both these teams being I-league teams surely made the match very competitive. Doing that match I realized the different between my 1st match and that match. My body language, the coordination with my assistant referees’, the interaction with the players and coaches, everything seemed to be at a higher level than before.
It is always interesting to do men’s competitive matches at higher level, no doubt that doing women’s matches is what I need to do more as a referee but since managing studies and timing of matches gets difficult. I do my best to grab every woman’s match that I can.
3. What do you think are the issues women referees’ in India face?
There was a time when we barely had any women referees’ in Mumbai. But going out of Mumbai for national tournaments made me realize that there are a lot of women referees’ across India but the major issue we all face was getting enough matches to do.
Every women referee in India cannot take up refereeing as a permanent job. It can only be a hobby. National tournaments take place only 2 or 3 times a year. Each tournament maybe for 15-20 days after that they have to go back home. What do they do when they go back home? Refereeing matches everyday can get very tiring. Also many states do not have competitive women’s matches so they have to do with refereeing U-16 boys matches to help them improve.
We need to encourage these referees’ by giving them more matches (even if it means refereeing boys matches).
4. Nita Ambani had mentioned the start of a League for Women like the ISL. Will that help the referees’?
Her thoughts and plans for an ISL for Women will help improve the standard of football as well as refereeing in India. Referees’ would be able to officiate matches alongside other fifa referees’ and learn a lot from them. We would get to officiate matches of high standard considering the fact that other international players would come in to play this tournament as well.
5. #MakeItHappen is the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day. Would you like to say some encouraging words to other women by including #MakeItHappen?
We have to #MakeItHappen by encouraging more girls to take up football/refereeing and thus improve the standard of football in India. We got to #MakeItHappen.
