OUR WORK
Levelling the playing field for women in India is our goal
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Why IWFA?
Patriarchy looms large in India, especially in small town and rural India. Education, employment, financial independence – the three mainstays of a secure and confident woman, are totally variable, and often not an option to an Indian woman. Gender inequities exist in every strata and sphere, and even in the higher echelons of corporate India, women are always expected to prioritise domestic duties over professional commitments. This, compounded by an adverse sex ratio, climbing rate of high-school drop outs , early marriages, underage pregnancies and a systemic disempowerment of the girl child makes for an overall climate of female suppression.
Who is IWFA?
A nation-wide network of football professionals and women's rights advocates that will use the transformative sport of football to inculcate skills like leadership, teambuilding, strategy, physical fitness, emotional strength, and, confidence into young voiceless women from all parts of the country. We aim to build a ecosystem of resources, learnings and people that will nurture female players at all levels, open up doors for them and catapult some of them into positions of leadership and influence in varied fields.
How IWFA works?
Football affects not only the player, it also impacts how the people around view her. It gives women of India a chance to showcase their physical and mental agility in what is a traditionally a male dominated space. IWFA’s network of members will span the nation, including pockets that get overlooked by national bodies. Our bank of extensive resources are available to any woman from any state or village, who wants to play ball, literally.Through career-enhancing mentoring schemes, seminars, workshops IWFA is looking to correct the imbalance in gender inequities. In football and beyond.
Our Mission
Build a vibrant and nurturing football-centric ecosystem that will develop and accelerate the growth of women’s football in India and catapult young women into assuming influential and leadership roles across the world.
Our Vision
Fostering a generation of confident and capable women in India, who can not only join but contribute productively in all sectors of Indian society, commerce and government through the impetus of football.
Celebrating the women achievers in Indian Women’s Football
Yolanda DeSouza, India’s first professional female football player. Bala Devi, the first woman player in India to land an international football contract. Arati Bannerjee, Indian pro football’s first female secretary. We applaud you all and pledge to do all we can to add many more victories to this list. As well as every other list in the country. IWFA champions the growth of women leaders in football and outside it
Meet Team IWFA
Executive Council
Anjali Shah
Founder & Executive Director
One of the two female member of the executive committee of All India Football Federation, Anjali has has been promoting football in India for over 20 years. She is the Founder and President of the PIFA Foundation, an NGO that takes football to underprivileged youth across India.She is a huge advocate of women's football As CEO of Pifa Sports Private Limited she has years of experience in the Indian football ecosystem.
Tulip Shah
President/Founder of Keystone Strategic Advisors (Washington DC) and serves as an advisor to senior management at both for-profit and non-profit organizations across the globe. He has served in executive and senior leadership roles at top organizations such as General Motors, Delphi, EDS, and AARP and has extensive international credentials, knowledge and deep hands-on experience in both the for-profit and social sectors. He has spearheaded major market expansions and initiatives in more than two dozen countries around the world.
Rinita Singh
Group Managing Director and Co-owner of Quantum Consumer Solutions, Rinita is a media & research specialist. She was amongst the flagship participants of the Women in the Corporate Boards inaugural mentorship programme run by Spencer Stuart and the FICCI Centre for Corporate Governance. Rinita is a member of the Arsenal Football Club.
Nikunj Jhaveri
On the heels of a long stint in Pepsico Asia, Nikunj set up IT Systems Plus, an IT & business strategy consultancy that advises an array of blue‐chip companies across the US and Europe. He also serves on the Board of several NGOs.
Priya Mirchandani
A brand communication and content consultant, Priya has worked with global media houses like Ogilvy, Mullen Lowe Lintas and Conde Nast. Her pro bono work includes social service campaigns building awareness for Child Autism and the Water Crisis, the latter with the eminent director Shekhar Kapoor. She has played district level basketball in school & college, is a passionate soccer mom, ManCity FC supporter and a Kevin De Bruyne fan. She is also a strident advocate for women's rights.
Advisory Committee
Sairee Chahal
Founder & CEO of Sheroes
Sairee is a multiple award winning technology entrepreneur whose community-meets-deep-technology approach has made Sheroes a globally game-changing platform for women and their aspirations. She uses technology to solve the problem of gender disparity and aims to impact over 100 million women in the next five years.
Shailee Chopra
The 'She' behind SheThePeople,
Shaili Chopra is an Indian business journalist, author and entrepreneur. She broke new ground by building SheThePeople.TV, a platform created to empower and inspire women with stories of role models issues that aim at changing the discourse about women (particularly in India) and what matters to them.
Faye D'Souza
An award‐winning TV journalist who knows the pulse of the Indian youth, Faye has changed the news anchoring paradigm on Indian television by focusing on issues that matter to citizens rather than those that fuel partisan debates. She prioritizes information over opinions and aims to drive policy changes and enhance government accountability in areas like taxation, safety of women and children, education, health and urban development.
Nicole Allison
Founder & Managing Director NA Sports Consultancy, London.
Over the last decade Nicole has managed sponsorship, media and fan growth strategies at Kantar Sport Intelligence, The English Football League and SMG Insight before moving into Women’s football as Manager of the Tottenham Hotspurs and taking them to the top tier. She has extensive experience working with players, agencies, rights holders, clubs and sponsors. She feels strongly about driving positive change in society through football and is a member of the London FA Inclusion Advisory Group and London FA Women’s and Girls’ Advisory Group.
Aahna Mehrotra
Founder, AM Sports Law & Management Co.
Aahna specializes in Sports Law & Management pertaining to league formulation, transfer of players, IP rights, sponsorships & merchandising, media & broadcasting contracts, grassroots development, school & college tournaments, anti‐doping dispute resolution, fantasy sports, gambling & betting laws. She sits on the National Anti-Doping Tribunal and is a visiting faculty at several Law Schools. She has co-authored the second edition of " Law and Sports in India." Aahna has played cricket for the India U19 women’s team and several other sports at the state level.
Aarti Dabas
Chief Media Officer, Formula E.
A Sports Media Rights & Broadcasting specialist, Aarti has spearheaded media rights, brand & content partnerships and digital & fan engagement for giants like Indian Cricket Council, IMG, TWI and Ten Sports. She is a strong believer in women’s empowerment and leadership, growing diversity in sport ‐on and off the field and its positive societal and commercial impact. She is passionate about driving change in the industry through insights, building relationships and empowering diverse teams.
Dan Wood
Professor at The Football Business Academy, Switzerland and Co-founder of World Freestyle Football Association. Dan is a passionate believer and advocate of social change through football. He works with professional footballers as well as street/freestyle footballers and social influencers, and his social projects include associations with FIFA World Cups (South Africa, Brasil, Russia and Qatar), UEFA Champions League, UEFA Women’s Champions League, CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores, EAGames, Adidas and Red Bull.
Deepak Ramachandra
Managing Director Axis Capital India.
Deepak is an Institutional Equity specialist whose experience in the financial sector spans two decades and two continents before moving to Mumbai a few years ago, he was with Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse Securities in London. An avid cricketer, Deepak was an active member of the Kensington Cricket Club in London and is the founder of its Indian chapter , the Kensington Cricket Club of India. He is the proud father of two soccer-playing daughters.
“I raise my voice not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.”
Malala Yousafzai.