SAMBALPUR: In a bid to raise awareness on gender equality, a mixed team football tournament is being organised in Sambalpur district.
Each team participating in Samata Cup has at least 50 per cent women players. Ten teams from Maneswar, Jujumura and Dhankauda blocks took part in the football tournament which is being organised by social organisation ‘Patang’. There are at least seven to eight women players in each team.So far, 10 matches of the mixed tournament have already been organised in different blocks of the district. The semifinals were held on November 10. The final match is scheduled to take place at 4C ground in the city on November 17.
Chief executive officer (CEO) of Patang Rita Mishra said, “Sometimes, men also become victims of gender inequality. Thus, we decided to organise the tournament to create awareness on gender equality in a way that works with both males and females. We want this football tournament to act as a platform where participants could interact about the issues related to gender equality.”The objective of the tournament is to educate people about the consequences and impact of gender inequality that exists in the society and make an effort to change their perception, she added.
The organisers said as mixed team is a new concept, training was provided to players to ensure that everyone gets equal opportunities to play during matches. As football is a male-centric sport and aggressive in nature, several rounds of discussions were also held with players of each team to ensure that misunderstanding does not arise between the men and women during matches.All the players are from rural areas of the district.