The eight tribal women footballers in contention for the national team for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to be hosted in India in 2021 will be provided nutritious diet and fitness facilities to keep them in fine fettle from July.

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren acting on the report published by The Telegraph on June 10 has directed the state sports department to ensure that the women footballers are accommodated in the Jharkhand State Sports Promotion Society (JSSPS) facility at the Mega Sports Complex in Hotwar, Ranchi, at the earliest.

“Acting on the June 10 report the chief minister issued a directive to us on Saturday to ensure that all the women footballers who were in the national Under-17 camp be kept in the JSSPS facility,” said state tourism and sports department secretary Pooja Singhal.

Singhal said: “Necessary instruction has been issued to the JSSPS authorities, too. However, as the JSSPS facility in Mega Sports Complex has been made an institutional quarantine centre. We have decided against keeping the girls there, as we do not want them to be exposed to infection and instead keep them in the football stadium complex near Morabadi. We will be getting in touch with the girls and arrange their accommodation at the sports complex from July first week.”

Sources in the state sports department claimed that talks have also been held with officials of All India Football Federation (AIFF) on tentative dates for resumption of training for the Indian Under-17 women team at Goa.

“We held talks with AIFF senior officials on Monday on their plans for resumption of training for the girls at Goa and have come to know that they are yet to take a final decision and awaiting final decision from the Union sports ministry on starting of the camp.

“We would be asking the girls to go for the national camp in Goa if the training resumes from July otherwise we will be providing them nutritious food and training under coaches available with us from July,” said a senior official in the sports department.

The Union home ministry had on May 17 given permission for opening of sports facilities only for training without spectators.

The Telegraph had on June 10 had highlighted the plight of these girls from rural hinterlands of Jharkhand who were in the national preparatory camp conducted by the AIFF for the FIFA

U-17 Women’s World Cup to be hosted in different parts of the country between February-March 2021 forced to live on a frugal diet due to abject poverty and worried about bagging berth in the final team.

The girls were in the national camp at Goa for the last one year and had returned to their native villages for a short break given by the AIFF in February and scheduled to return to the camp in mid-March but the camp could not resume because of the lockdown forcing the girls to stay in their villages without getting nutritious foods.

The eight players from Jharkhand in the preparatory camp include, Purnima Kumari, Sumati Kumari, Sudha Ankita Tirkey Amisha Bakhla, Astham Oraon, Sunita Kumari, Nitu Linda and Salina Kumari.