Soccer Queens of Rani

Soccer Queens of Rani talks about the change football has brought in people's outlook towards girls in interiors of Assam. The idea for an academy for girls started in 2008, when Hem Das first visited Rani to organise an exhibition football match between two Guwahati-based teams. After the match, the locals asked him to train the boys, but that didn’t work out as there weren’t enough volunteers. Instead, some girls showed their interest. In 2010, Das opened a branch of his Guwahati-based football academy, Young Star Football Coaching Centre, at Rani High School, where students of over 20 villages study. Das did not charge any fees from them and even provided playing gear. Within two years, the number of students rose to 50.