Inspire Cup 2025: How a football tournament is transforming Indian girls

“We are happy to win the Inspire Cup 2025,” said a beaming Akansha Narte, the skipper of Narmada Valley FC, while holding aloft the glittering trophy.

Having travelled all the way from Madhya Pradesh to Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, she was visibly chuffed.

And these were the same sentiments that were echoed by each of the 216 players from 12 teams that competed in the 4th edition of girls football tournament that concluded at the Anatapur Sports Academy last week.

An annual tournament

Inspire Cup is an annual football tournament conducted at the Anantapur Sports Academy by The Rural Development Trust’s Sports for Development initiative.

The tournament creates a platform for emerging female talents to showcase their skills and abilities thereby encouraging girls to pursue football.

The initiative, which first began in 2022 with five teams, has since grown over the last 3 years, with the fourth edition this year featuring 12 teams from all over India.

Narmada Valley FC emerged the champions in the fourth edition after defeating Bengaluru FC with a score of 3-0 in the finals of the tournament that concluded on the 9th of January.

Creating a quality competitive platform for girls’ academies and girls’ clubs across India, the Inspire Cup takes the first step towards developing women's football in India.

Emphasis on cultural exchange

The tournament, conducted in round-robin league and knockout final formats, also emphasizes the importance of cultural exchanges and creates an opportunity for the same through extracurricular activities such as fun games, and a campfire.

And the players loved every moment of the tournament.

“We are participating in this tournament for the first time, and winning made us more confident and happier. We have really enjoyed the past few days here in Anantapur and the eventhas given us good memories to carry with us,” said the winning captain, Akansha Narte of Narmada Valley FC.

“Inspire Cup is one of the platforms where the young girls can start their football journey and can also be recognised for their talent. This tournament is a strong platform to gain exposure and get into professional sport.” said Amoolya, former Indian Women’s Football player and football coach of Bangalore United Football Club.

The tournament itself was made possible in partnership with the La Liga Foundation.

Amoolya Kamal, Moncho Ferrer, RDT Programme Director, Venugopal, Vice President of Andhra Pradesh Football Association, Jitendra Kumar Mishra, Regional Head of Union Bank of India, and Sai Krishna Pulluru, RDT Sports Sector Director, were present during the closing ceremony.