Vision 2047 and talent pathway realities

Exploring female football development in West Bengal, India

Bibliographic Data

ID19224537
AuthorsSohini Sarkar (Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, corresponding author), Smita Jha (0000-0001-6064-5482, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee)
Year2026
Pages1-19
Publication date2026-05-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSoccer and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1466-0970 • E-ISSN: 1743-9590
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14660970.2026.2680284
OpenAlexW7162539790
LanguageEN
References cited24

The paper examines how national federation narratives shape talent development pathways for female youth football in India and whether state-level archival participation records in West Bengal, a historical football hub in India, enact or obscure those narratives. Framed as a case study of West Bengal, the research conducts a discourse analysis of the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) Vision 2047 (Phase 1, 2023–2026) and systematically examines the state team rosters and registration data sets from the same period. The study combines critical discourse techniques with an archival lens to show how missing fields (i.e. socio-economic indicators, district representation) and registration practices shape what counts as talent. The analysis indicates a consistent promotion of women’s development at the national level (through new leagues or strategic targets), while state-level records remain fragmentary, not regionally classified, and are largely devoid of socio-demographic markers that are necessary for equitable talent identification

Field (mathematics) · Football · Government (linguistics) · Work (physics) · Human Resource and Talent Management · Sport Psychology and Performance · Sports, Gender, and Society

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