Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
As the FIFA World Cup 2026 wraps up, we ask the question India keeps avoiding: what’s stopping us from competing on that stage, and why do we forget football the moment the tournament ends?
In this episode, Abhinandan Sekhri sits down with Pragati Banka – India’s first and only female FIFA-licensed football agent, founder of the Equal Play Collective, and an active player in Karnataka’s State Division League – to unpack why Indian women footballers may reach a World Cup before the men, and why almost nobody is talking about it.
Pragati breaks down the brutal reality behind the promise: footballers with day jobs who need approval just to play for the national team, leagues with no official data or scouting systems, matches that aren’t even recorded, and a competition calendar so unpredictable that clubs, players, and sponsors can’t plan a season. She talks about age fraud that masks the gap between junior promise and senior performance, a system that punishes players for speaking up about basic dignity – mattresses, nutrition, pay – and the bias that kept a standout player out of the national team.
But more than a story of neglect, it’s a conversation about grit – about mothers, students, and working professionals playing for the love of the game, about grassroots change starting at home, and about what real investment in women’s football could unlock for the country.
Watch to find out what needs to change before the next big tournament.
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As the FIFA World Cup 2026 wraps up, we ask the question India keeps avoiding: what’s stopping us from competing on that stage, and why do we forget football the moment the tournament ends?
In this episode, Abhinandan Sekhri sits down with Pragati Banka – India’s first and only female FIFA-licensed football agent, founder of the Equal Play Collective, and an active player in Karnataka’s State Division League – to unpack why Indian women footballers may reach a World Cup before the men, and why almost nobody is talking about it.
Pragati breaks down the brutal reality behind the promise: footballers with day jobs who need approval just to play for the national team, leagues with no official data or scouting systems, matches that aren’t even recorded, and a competition calendar so unpredictable that clubs, players, and sponsors can’t plan a season. She talks about age fraud that masks the gap between junior promise and senior performance, a system that punishes players for speaking up about basic dignity – mattresses, nutrition, pay – and the bias that kept a standout player out of the national team.
But more than a story of neglect, it’s a conversation about grit – about mothers, students, and working professionals playing for the love of the game, about grassroots change starting at home, and about what real investment in women’s football could unlock for the country.
Watch to find out what needs to change before the next big tournament.
Subscribe to Newslaundry: pages.razorpay.com/nlsm
Join the NL-TNM Book Club: newslaundry.com/book-club
Join us on WhatsApp: whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va61PEo0QeacOqU9vr2k
Download the accessible Newslaundry app: newslaundry.com/download-app
Follow and engage with us on social media:
Facebook: facebook.com/newslaundry
Twitter: twitter.com/newslaundry
Instagram: instagram.com/newslaundry
