FLO Mumbai, under the leadership of Chairperson Seema Saroj, along with Laher Gala, Founder of Khelegi, presented the Khelegi programme to Shri Deepak Singla, IAS, Commissioner of Sports & Youth Services, Government of Maharashtra. The discussion centred on an important question: How can we enable more girls not only to enter sport, but to continue playing as they grow?
Khelegi’s play-first curriculum, supported by the IOC Young Leaders Programme, is designed to build belonging, movement confidence, body awareness and resilience. The programme also seeks to address barriers that may cause girls to disengage from sport during puberty.
This two-part approach is intended to help understand the different barriers girls face in rural and urban settings and use those insights to develop a model for sustained participation. The meeting provided an opportunity to present the proposed initiative and explore pathways for taking the programme forward in Maharashtra.
Key Takeaways
- Beyond Access: The focus is not only on getting girls into sport, but enabling them to remain engaged as they grow.
- Addressing Drop-Off: The programme seeks to understand barriers that can lead girls to disengage from sport during puberty.
- Play-First Approach: Khelegi’s curriculum uses play as a foundation for building confidence and sustained participation.
- Building Belonging: Creating a sense of belonging is an important component of encouraging girls to stay in sport.
- Movement Confidence: The programme aims to develop confidence and comfort in movement.
- Body Awareness: Girls are encouraged to develop greater awareness and understanding of their bodies.
- Building Resilience: The curriculum incorporates resilience as a key element of continued participation.
- Rural–Urban Learning: The proposed pilot will compare experiences and barriers across rural and urban schools.
- Scale of Proposed Pilot: The initiative proposes reaching 1,000 girls—500 from rural schools and 500 from urban schools.
- Building a Sustainable Model: Insights from the pilot are intended to contribute towards a model for sustained engagement of girls in sport.
Impact & Outcome
The proposed pilot aims to reach 1,000 girls across Maharashtra, with equal representation from rural and urban schools, to understand diverse barriers to participation and develop a model for sustained engagement. Overall, the initiative focused on addressing a critical challenge in girls’ participation in sports—not only enabling girls to enter sport, but creating the support systems needed for them to continue playing as they grow.