Winners of the Delhi Dreams Girls Football Tournament train with Aston Villa
Two girls had a chance of a lifetime when they were invited by premier league side, Aston Villa, for a training camp. Pratibha and Aveka Singh were the two winners who were chosen from the tournament. The girls trained at Villa’s club development centre and were then treated to win over West Ham in the Premier league at Villa Park.
When Pratibha, 14, was asked how the experience was she replied, “How can I tell you how much I love my mum? It is like that. I love football.”
“I never thought about playing football, my grand-dad used to play and now I go back to my village and he plays football with me.”
Aveka, 11, who sometimes has to play with 19-year-old due to the lack of female players her age dreams of representing India at the international stage.
“First, football was just like a fun game to me but after getting the opportunity to play outside I was thinking of taking it up,” she told BBC. “It means a lot to me, I would like to take it up as a career, I want to play internationally.
“India doesn't have too many opportunities, they don't have women's teams that play in cups or leagues. It is pretty tough playing there, it is tough to get the chances.”
“It was the best day of their life”
Jade Richards, Aston Villa Ladies defender, travelled to India during the tournament in India was touched by the experience.
“No matter what they were wearing they gave it 100% and they had huge smiles on their faces afterwards,” Richards said. “They came out and played their hearts out. It was an amazing atmosphere.
“The most touching moment for me was when one of the girls told me it was the best day of her life.”