WIFA - The Western India Football Association

Football is a physically demanding sport that requires a combination of speed, agility, and endurance. Football players need proper nutrition on a daily basis to stay energized and ready for the intensity of practice or a game.

Nidhi Kaur Gandhi worked with Mumbai City FC to ensure players perform at their optimum level and are able to give their all in each and every match right till the very end.

1. What made you want to be a nutritionist?

Nutrition was an upcoming field when I finished schooling and the fact that the food we eat influences our health as well as risk factors for each disease state right from birth to old age made me pursue this field.

2. Best thing about your work?

The best thing about my work is that by correcting a few dietary practices and making a few lifestyle modifications, I can help people live a healthy life. So when the clients follow their diet with perseverance, the results are evident and that is the most gratifying thing.

3. What makes you want to keep evolving in you field?

Nutrition is an ever evolving field with new studies and recommendations that constantly come up. The desire to be updated with the current concepts, distinguish between the right and the wrong ones and put them into practice drives me to keep evolving in my field.

4. Biggest Challenge?

Biggest challenge is to set goals for the clients that are realistic and hence can make a difference in their life.

5. Where would you like to see yourself one day?

I would like to see myself as a nutritionist for the national men’s and women’s football team.

6. Any aspiration to work for a big team?

I would like to work with the players and experts at Manchester United F. C.

7. How do you deal with the pressure?

Pressure is a part of the job and the best way to deal with it is to be organized, prioritize and manage your time well. That’s what I try to do.

8. Earlier people used to feel awkward looking at a female nutritionist working with them. Have things changed for the better or for worse?

Yes, I must say things have changed for the better. Earlier most of the assistance regarding dietary practices was provided by coaches but today players and various sports organizations do recognize the need for a nutrition specialist to look after the nutritional requirements of the players. It is not awkward for a female nutritionist to work with a team anymore. The players look up to you with equal respect that they would have otherwise had for a male nutritionist and are very keen on knowing about the correct nutritional practices that will help them excel in their sport.

9. Do you feel it’s necessary for a women’s team to have a woman nutritionist?

Training, right nutrition and recovery work together in the making of an athlete, so I believe every sport should have a nutrition specialist to help the players understand and meet their nutritional requirements. It would be crucial for the women’s team to have a woman nutritionist because she will have a better understanding of the pressure they are put through and hence will be able to help plan appropriate nutritional strategies to meet the training requirements, aid in recovery and eventually contribute to improved performance.

1. What changes would you like to bring about in Indian Women’s Football?

I would like to change the perception of us Indians towards Women’s Football. I would like people and organizations to see Women’s football in the same light as Men’s football, give it the same amount of importance, encouragement and provide facilities.

1. How would you like to change the perspective of people in terms of successful women’s?

I would like people to understand that women today are as capable as men. They are good at multitasking and can handle all the roles in life pretty well. So don’t stop her from growing and don’t make her compromise on her dreams. Give her a chance and she will show you what it is worth.

2. When you finish your tour with the team, do you stay in touch with the injured players keeping a tab on their recovery? Do you think it is important to do so?

I was one of the nutritionists who did not travel, so I would stay back with the players who are injured. The injured players are an equally important part of the team as the fit ones, so along with the other officials from the medical team, it is our duty to provide all the support and facilities they need to help them in speedy recovery and to keep a tab on them even if it extends beyond the league.

3. A message for all women out there?

My message to women out there would be:

It is our time to shine, fight for your rights, have faith in yourself and ignore what others think about you. Give yourself priority because it is our time to #MakeItHappen.

4. Key to being a successful nutritionist?

The key to being a successful nutritionist is to have confidence in your knowledge, keep yourself updated with the latest research and trends and creatively facing all the challenges.

5. Future Prospect?

I would like to make a place for myself in Indian Football and help in the upliftment of the sport.