‘Our biggest opportunity lies with the younger age-group teams.’
‘If you look at the senior national team, our chances are about 50-50.’
‘The gap becomes smaller as you move down the age groups.’
‘At the Under-20 level, it’s closer to 60-40.’
‘By the Under-17 level, it’s around 80-20. That’s where I feel we have our best chance.’
Key Points
- Nivetha Ramadoos, the first Indian woman on the national team’s coaching staff for a FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, believes qualifying for a World Cup would transform women’s football in India.
- She highlights the need for a comprehensive football culture in India, including parental support, school involvement, and a clear pathway from grassroots to professional levels, to bridge the gap with World Cup-playing nations.
- Ramadoos advocates three major changes to help India qualify for a FIFA World Cup: Unified efforts from state associations and clubs, early international exposure for young players, and significant investment in coach development.
Nivetha Ramadoos, 34, grew up in a small town near Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu.
She studied in a government school and never imagined that football would one day become her life’s purpose. Her journey began almost by accident.
During a school sports day, her speed caught the attention of her physical education teacher, who was looking for girls to complete an 18-member squad for the zonal-level football tournament.
Nivetha was supposed to be with the team for just ten days. Those ten days turned into years. She quickly fell in love with football. Since the ground was close to her home, continuing to train was an easy decision.
More importantly, her first coaches treated every player like family. The football ground became her second home, a place where she felt she belonged. By Class 8, she had earned admission to a sports hostel in Chennai. From there, there was no looking back.
She represented her state and went on to play in Junior Nationals, Senior Nationals, and the Indian Women’s League.
When it came time to choose a career, Nivetha admits she was never particularly interested in academics. She knew sports was where she wanted to build her future. Around the same time, a friend remarked that she would make a good coach. It was a passing comment, but it stayed with her and slowly shaped her ambitions.
As she began coaching, she discovered something unexpected — she enjoyed guiding players even more than playing herself.
Journey to National Coach
Her professional coaching journey truly began with Sethu FC, Tamil Nadu’s first all-women’s football club. She started as the assistant coach in the Indian Women’s League before becoming part of the Tamil Nadu state women’s team coaching setup. Her work soon caught the attention of the All India Football Federation.
In 2019, she received her first opportunity to work with the national federation. Although it was a short assignment, she made a lasting impression before returning to Sethu FC.
Soon, AIFF came calling again — this time with a much bigger responsibility. She joined the Indian Under-17 Women’s World Cup team under Head Coach Thomas Dennerby becoming the first Indian woman to be part of the national team’s coaching staff for a FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup campaign.
That experience changed her perspective. Working at the highest level exposed her to international standards and showed her what Indian football could aspire to become.
It also brought an unexpected realisation. Young players began telling her that she was their role model. For Nivetha, those words carried more weight than any title. They reminded her that every step she took was opening doors for someone else.
“Sometimes it feels like the world’s best teams are sprinting a 100-metre race while we’re trying to walk alongside them. That’s the gap we need to bridge — not just in talent, but in preparation, fitness, and the overall football ecosystem,” Nivetha Ramadoos tells Laxmi Negi/Rediff.
Bridging The Gap in Indian Football
Every World Cup, Indians passionately support other nations. As a coach, what goes through your mind when you watch the tournament?
When I watch the World Cup, I don’t just watch it as a fan — I watch it as a coach. I’m constantly observing the technical quality, the speed of decision-making, the tactical discipline and the intensity that players maintain for over 90 minutes.
The biggest difference I notice is the pace.
Sometimes it feels like the world’s best teams are sprinting a 100-metre race while we’re trying to walk alongside them. That’s the gap we need to bridge — not just in talent, but in preparation, fitness, and the overall football ecosystem.
Over the years, we’ve had many good coaches who brought their own philosophies and playing styles.
But modern football demands much more than tactics alone. It is driven by science.
If Indian football wants to consistently compete at the highest level, we need to invest more in sports science, strength and conditioning, sports psychology, nutrition, recovery, performance analysis and modern training technology. These are no longer luxuries; they’re essential parts of elite football.
What separates countries playing at the World Cup from India today? Is it talent, coaching, infrastructure, or administration?
I don’t think it’s just one thing. It’s an entire football culture. In many countries that regularly play at the World Cup, children grow up playing the game every day, parents encourage it, schools support it and there is a clear pathway from grassroots football to the professional level.
In India, many parents still see sport as a recreational activity rather than a serious career. I also believe we need to nurture creativity.
The best footballing nations don’t just produce disciplined players — they produce players who are confident enough to make decisions and take risks.
Too often, our education system rewards us for following instructions and becoming good office workers. Football demands something different.
It requires players who can think independently, make quick decisions, and solve problems in a split second.
The real challenge is building an ecosystem that identifies talent early, nurtures it, and allows young players to express themselves without taking away their creativity.
If India genuinely wants to qualify for a FIFA World Cup in the next 15-20 years, what are the three biggest changes that need to happen?
1. Every state association and every club has to work together instead of working in isolation.
We need regular grassroots festivals and youth tournaments to identify talent at an early age. From each state, we should identify the best 50 players and provide them with structured, long-term development.
It’s not just about increasing participation; it’s about consistently developing quality players.
2. Give young players international exposure early. Our Under-10, Under-13, Under-15 and Under-17 teams should regularly travel abroad to play against clubs and national academies.
Competing against stronger opposition teaches players lessons that cannot be replicated in training. They should also return and compete in India so that they continue raising the standard here.
3. Invest in developing coaches, not just players. Players improve when coaches improve. Our coaches need opportunities to work, learn and observe football in other countries.
Exposure to different coaching methods, sports science and professional environments helps them bring back valuable knowledge.
Japan has followed this approach consistently for years, investing in both its players and its coaches, and the results are there for everyone to see. Ultimately, Indian football has to be built by Indians.
We can learn from the best footballing nations, but we must create a system that suits our own players, our culture and our future.
If everyone works towards the same vision, qualifying for a FIFA World Cup can become an achievable goal rather than just a dream.
Are there tactical trends from this World Cup that Indian coaches should start adopting?
One area we need to focus on is specialised kick-off routines. We work on these with the senior national team, but they aren’t consistently taught at the grassroots level.
Players should start learning these concepts at a young age, not just how to execute them, but also why they’re being used.
When players understand the purpose behind a tactical kick-off routine, they become better decision-makers and more creative on the field.
Another area is set-pieces. If you watch the World Cup closely, you’ll notice how much planning and creativity goes into corners, free kicks, and throw-ins. Many matches are decided by these moments.
That said, I don’t believe in copying what the top teams do. Those routines are designed for players with specific qualities and skill sets. Instead, we should study the ideas behind them, understand the principles, and then develop our own set-piece routines that suit Indian players.
The goal isn’t to imitate the world’s best teams. It’s to learn from them and create an Indian style of football that maximises our own strengths.
Women’s Football: A Path to the World Cup
The Indian women’s team is ranked significantly higher than the men’s team, yet receives only a fraction of the attention. Why do you think that is?
That’s not unique to India — it’s how football has traditionally evolved around the world. Men’s football has had a much longer history of investment, broadcasting, sponsorship, and fan following. Women’s football is growing rapidly, but it is still catching up in terms of visibility.
For us, the biggest game-changer would be qualifying for a FIFA World Cup. The World Cup gives a team global recognition in a way that very few other tournaments can.
Once you reach that stage, people start following your journey, young players get inspired, and the sport attracts more support from fans, sponsors, and the media.
We’ve seen something similar in women’s cricket. The team started receiving far greater attention after consistently performing on the world stage and wining the World Cup.
The Indian women’s team has made encouraging progress, but to truly capture the country’s attention, we need that breakthrough moment.
Qualifying for a FIFA World Cup would not just be a milestone for the team — it could transform the future of women’s football in India.
Do you think the women’s team is currently India’s best hope of reaching a FIFA World Cup?
I believe our biggest opportunity lies with the younger age-group teams. If you look at the senior national team, I’d say our chances are about 50-50.
The top Asian nations like Japan, Australia, China are still well ahead of us in terms of experience, depth, and consistency. But the gap becomes smaller as you move down the age groups.
At the Under-20 level, I’d say it’s closer to 60-40.
The difference at that stage isn’t so much technical ability. It’s more about physical development, international exposure, and the fact that the top nations spend much longer training and competing together as a group.
Our Under-17 team has already shown that it can compete and even reach the knockout stages (quarter-finals in AFC U17 Asian Cup 2026). That tells us we’re much closer to the door than many people think.
The key now is continuity. If we can keep this group together, give them consistent international exposure, and allow them to progress as a unit from the Under-17s to the Under-20s and eventually into the senior national team, I genuinely believe they have the potential to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.
Talent is there. Our job is to make sure that talent isn’t lost along the way.
What kind of international exposure do Indian women footballers still lack?
We need to consistently play against teams that are better than us. That’s the only way we truly understand where we stand and what we are missing.
Right now, that kind of exposure is still limited for us. We may get it occasionally in tournaments or camps, but it needs to be continuous. The more we play at that level, the more we learn to handle pressure and adapt to higher standards.
Playing stronger teams also gives players a reference point. They can see the contrast directly — what top-level football looks like and what it takes to reach there. That awareness is very important for growth.
