Tanvie Hans Interview: The first lady of Indian football

In sports, determination has been the one major aspect which has made every player famous and successful. Working along these lines, Tanvie Hans, a girl from India, has gone on to play for one of the biggest Ladies teams in England.

Some call her the “first lady of India in football” as she became the first and the only woman from India to play for a top English club. Tanvie Hans was brought up in the city of New Delhi where she pursued her education till college, after which she moved to England to pursue her Masters degree.

Life in England and her talent in football made her climb the ladder of success, as after rigorous training and hard work, she made it to the Tottenham Hotspur Ladies FC. She did try applying for a place in the Indian Women’s football team but was denied selection because of having a British passport.

Q: What influenced your decision to take up football as a career?

Just the fact that I loved playing. I am extremely passionate about the sport. Luckily, I was always been sporty since I was small and my parents have been very supportive since they have seen how much hard work I put into it and because of this, they couldn’t say no to me. So I think that was very helpful.

Q: You got rejected from playing for India because of having a British passport. Do you think that there should be a change in the selection procedure for the national team?

I definitely think so. Not only because of my case, but for other people as well. I think Indian sports in general is missing out on such a large pool of talent with this law and I think they definitely should change the procedure. At least they could pass a special law for sports people, especially in situations like mine, so that they could benefit from them.

Q: You are playing in the third team of Spurs Ladies.  Can you throw more light on to the different levels of football being played there?

The club has the first team, second and third team and each of team plays at a different league. If you study the league system out here, it’s quite deep as there are around eight to twelve levels of leagues.  And it’s quite different from men.

For them, the Premier league is the topmost league. For women, the Premier league is just the third level of the pyramid. There are 2 leagues above it- Super League 1 and Super League 2- which is actually the top of the top where you have teams like Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Q: So have you ever played against Arsenal?

Like I said earlier, Arsenal plays at the Super League and Spurs Ladies play in Premier league, which is a level below, but there have been a lot of friendly matches between Arsenal and Spurs Ladies and every time that happens, there is like a special energy for that sort of a game.

When you go to play against them, you know that you really want to win it, not only because they are rivals but also Arsenal has one of the best women’s team in England. So any type of victory over Arsenal will be like ‘Oh my god’ …(Laughs). So yeah, it’s pretty intense.
Q: I heard that you have played as an attacking midfielder, winger and also as a striker. Which position do you like the most?

Actually a lot of my experience in India has been on the wings, mostly on the right. When I came to Spurs, that’s where I started off in the trials. They have started trying me out in different positions, especially this season.

In my second season with them, they started using me in more central positions and I must admit that I am enjoying this role a lot more. I am not fond of playing as the main striker though, as you have very limited contact with the ball. I like having more time with the ball.

Q: How good is the coaching staff? Can you describe how detailed their structure of working is?

When we have training sessions, we have coaches and staffs of all the three teams together and we have a short period of time when all the three teams train and warm-up together. When I initially came last season, before we had our first match, our manager told all of us, “It doesn’t matter what team you are playing for, its one big squad, It’s a Spurs Ladies squad. So it doesn’t matter whether you are there in the first team, second or third team. You get your opportunity to move up, so it’s one big squad.”

So that in itself makes you feel like it’s one big family. If I want to know any critical feedback about my performance one day or if I have any specific questions, I can easily approach the coach because it’s a very comfortable relationship.

Q: What do you do during the week days?

The thing is that in woman’s football, in the Premier league, the women are not really paid as much so during the day everyone has a job or is studying and our trainings are in the evenings, after 5.

Q: You have played some matches in India and now in Spurs Ladies as well. So what changes have you seen?

The level of encouragement is pretty much the same. The amount of experience is not even a scratch compared to what these girls had by the time they reached college. Here, they are groomed to play from a very young age.

I didn’t have that sort of experience and that’s the biggest difference. I am 24 now and have been playing in the development team but there are couple of girls aged 16-17 in my team. So you can see the age difference.

Q: So you think that the training provided in Grassroots level is less in India?

Yeah, definitely. The system doesn’t go deep unfortunately.  Though I can see many young girls picking up football and playing for their school and all, there is no proper academy. There is no system like every Sunday you have a match. There is no system which allows you to fight for a spot in the team and all. There are hardly enough girls to fill a full team of 11 girls. Football is like a religion out here and there is a huge difference.

Q: The past one year has been great for India with the advent ISL. Do you think a revolution has started, and we can now achieve our dream of making it into the World Cup in the near future?

I am very happy that they started this league. They have commercialized it very well. I think that’s what works in India unfortunately, as long as commercialization has got more attention, to an extent it has served its purpose. I think it’s good.

As far as a World Cup is concerned, it’s going to take a few years for this momentum to really push the team on. It requires a deep system and this is just a surface.

Q: There has been rumors of introducing an ISL style tournament for Ladies. Do you think AIFF should take an initiative in introducing a Ladies’ ISL?

I definitely think so, because as far as a World Cup is concerned, our women are ranked much higher compared to men in FIFA rankings. If there is a chance of reaching the tournament, it is probably the women who will make it first.

If they want to concentrate on the success of the country and give a name to the sport, then they should definitely pay attention to women’s football. I am not saying more or less focus but equal focus should be given.

Q: If a Ladies league comes up and clubs here try to buy you, will u accept the offer?

Yes, Absolutely! Unfortunately, I can’t play for India right now, but if I could play in India, then it would be great because it’s my home. And if they provide a good standard and if my friends and family can come watch me play, then I would be delighted.

Q: Which Indian club do you love the most and why?

Pune FC, because they are the club who approached me and actually started an initiative for a women’s team. It made me feel that they really care. And they are the first to do this, so yeah Pune FC for me.

Q: Who is your role model in football also can you tell who your favorite player is as well?

I don’t know if I have a role model and I don’t know whether I have a favorite player or favorite club. I actually used to look up to the boys that I used to play with and wanted to be as good as them. So I only started watching football very late.

But I like quite a few players and teams because there is something to appreciate in every club. I watch football basically to learn and see how they move and stuff. There is something to admire in every player.

I know there is a big debate on who is better out of Ronaldo and Messi. When people ask me that question, I don’t know what to say. I basically like the combination of them as they are such different players and their ethics are worlds apart.

Q: I came across a recent project of yours titled “Bend it like Beckham Musical”. The first thing that came to my mind when I heard of you was the movie Bend it Like Beckham. Is that your favorite movie?

Bend it Like Beckham has always been my favorite film. It came out when I was 12 years old and that’s when u start thinking big and it helped me expand my mind. The movie actually created a need to do something big in football. So, the fact that this is happening is surreal and I was star struck when I met Gurinder.

They are making a musical stage production based on the film which is being shown here in London and if it does very well, they are going to expand it to other places as well. My cousin/uncle knew Gurinder and just mentioned me to her and she got in touch with me. She told me what she had in mind and how she wanted to involve me in the musical. It was amazing!

Q: All the best for that from our team.

Thank you.

Q You’ve been staying in England for a long time now. What is the one thing that you miss the most about India?

I do miss a lot of things. I miss the food, I love Indian sweets a lot, Jalebi and stuff like that, I miss them. But the things that actually bugged me the most when I was in India are the things that I miss now. I miss the noise, the hustle, the simplicity and the fact that everything is so reasonable and so cheap and if you want anything done “Jugaad bhi ho jayeega”. You can’t do stuff like that as there is a system for everything here. I really miss that “Anything will do attitude” and hence I miss the whole package and it’s a completely different experience but I’m enjoying my life here too.

Q: What is your message to all those in India who wishes to take a career in football?

I know that in India, it’s not a traditional career path and may not pay you enough, but I think if you are truly passionate, then opportunities are opening up in India itself.

With the ISL coming up, just keep working hard and do your research as there are opportunities outside India as well. Just keep going and I know for a fact that all this hard work is going to pay off. Just be optimistic and keep the hard work going.

Just have it in your head that you want to achieve something big and I am sure that it will come true.

Q: Thanks a lot Tanvie for having an interview with us. We hope that you could acheive greater heights in near future.

Thank You. Yeah lets hope so.

Later upon asking an autograph, she accepted it and sent us a poster of her wishing all the best to our team all the way from London.