‘Father, can’t I play anymore?’

Born against the backdrop of a picturesque tea garden, Sowrovi Roy dreamed of becoming an accomplished footballer. She would go on to earn plaudits throughout her teenage years, but despite all the hopes she raised, that light is now fading.

After nurturing and developing her talent in spite of unimaginable hardships, Sowrovi's dreams are in disarray due to lack of money and proper nursing. Her father aimed to make her one of the best footballers in the country, but could only afford to send her to BKSP for six months in 2022.

Now, the 12th-grader is back at the Begum Khan Tea Garden in the Chunarughat upazila of Habiganj.

Nipen Paul, general secretary of Bangladesh Tea Workers Union central committee said Sowrovi had played football in the morning and afternoon since her childhood. At the time, there were not many female players, so she became accustomed to playing with boys.

From 2016 onwards, she began to play more seriously, including in local tournaments, before showing her mettle as a striker as her institution, the Taher Shamchunnahar High School, became champions of Sylhet Division in the 46th Summer School National Championship and the 2017 Madrasa Sports Competition.

In 2019, Sowrovi captained upazila and district teams in the first Bangmata Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib National Gold Cup Football Tournament (U-16), finishing as champions at the upazila level as she took home the player of the tournament crown. At the district level, her team finished as runners-up from Sylhet, but she was again named player of the tournament.

In 2020, dealing with the setbacks of Covid-19, she continued to practice. It seemed that her destiny was about to change in January of 2022, when she impressed the staff at BKSP and secured a place there.

Not only did that sojourn provide technical guidance, it showed her a new world. Although she finds great comfort in football, that was her first chance to watch the game.

"We are poor people, so we don't have a television. I want to watch Bangladesh at the SAFF Women's Championship, but I can't. Due to limited opportunities, I never developed an interest in watching football. But at BKSP, the other players and I would watch games."

Sowrovi's father Surjo Kumar Roy, a permanent tea worker, has always encouraged his daughter. But he struggles to even provide the fare for her to go and practice at the Surma Tea Estate to practice. Those financial constraints meant that Sowrovi's journey at BKSP would be cut short.

"We can't eat three proper meals. I can't educate my only daughter properly. I can't even fulfill her wishes. I brought my daughter this far with great difficulty. I can't anymore. I have exhausted all my resources. I feel helpless," he added.

Surjo may still harbour that dream of his daughter becoming one of the best footballers in the nation, but, ever so often, Sowrovi's restless takes the shape of a question, one that makes both her and her father's hearts sink: "Father, can't I play anymore?"