She is called the 'Joan of Arc' of Kashmir football. She is Nadiya Nighat, the professional licensed female football coach in Kashmir. But this 27-year-old football coach who herself was a player to have played in the Indian Women's League (IWL), Kerala Women's Football league, was the assistant coach of Lonestar FC men's team and the chief of the coaching staff of Lonestar FC women's football team also.

She has been the only female coach also to have worked as coach of a women's football team in Pune, Gulazo FC last season.

But this is not her only job. Rather her major contribution was to build up a football training school for women exclusively in Srinagar named J.J-7 and that is at her expense in the process of building up this coaching center Nadiya had to face a lot of taunts and criticism. The guardians did not allow their girls to play football. It was Nadiya's relentless effort to convince the parents of those girls who were keen to play the game and bring them into training. Even, Nadiya sometimes protected those young girls from listening to scoffs offered to the girls from the people of their locality when they were coming to practice and returning home.

Nadiya, speaking over the phone from Chandigarh where she is now working, said, "When I started playing football in a coaching center in Srinagar I used to practice with 47 boys. I was alone there. Initially, I did not get support from any quarter of society. My parents were scared of the mockery and boos from my relatives, neighbors, and other people from our area. Still, I did not give up."

But the indomitable Nadiya seems frustrated. She seems to have lost hope. She joined a corporate last month with the hope that she might gather fund and spend it to run her J.J-7 academy where 35 girls from different parts of Srinagar still practice. Nadiya explained, "Otherwise I will have to stop this coaching center as nobody is eager to come forward with financial assistance. I have repeatedly approached people from different sectors including some local businessmen and the association. But nobody has responded.”

Nadiya also revealed she had offered a significant proposal to the J &K State Football Association recently. She said, “There is no women’s football league in the state and you cannot take part in the IWL unless you are becoming champions in the state league. I offered J &K to stage a women’s league but I will bear the maximum part of the total expenditure which will cost around Rs 5 to 6 lakh. Still, they did not agree with my proposal. In that case, I would have fielded my JJ Academy and created an opportunity for my students to play IWL. But now, in this situation, it looks almost impossible for me to arrange the total expenditure. However, I have decided that I will make the last try to gather funds this year. If I get financial assistance then I can proceed. Otherwise, if I fail then my dream will die. I will concentrate on my job."