Soccer Nuns

As the FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off in Canada this June, the BBC World Service follows the struggles of the Tibet women’s soccer team.

Ivan Broadhead joins The Snow Lionesses on tour as they begin the match of their lives: to achieve international recognition in the face of Chinese opposition, entrenched sexism in their own community and FIFA disapproval.

Supported by a group of non-Tibetan coaches, the women’s soccer team – 27 young refugees living in exile across India – endure the trials and tribulations of a month-long training camp in Uttarakhand State.

In the ensuing weeks, each young woman gives her all for her teammates, her family and her homeland, in the hope of earning a place on the fledgling national squad scheduled to play three of India’s strongest women’s football teams in Delhi.

Throughout the tour, the players offer inspiration with stories of their escape from Tibet, living with sexual assault, family tragedy and the quest to garner international support.

With their Delhi matches under threat of cancellation – soccer and sisterhood emerge as powerful forces in the Snow Lionesses’ struggle for both gender equality and a Tibetan identity.

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