When Aisha Nazia from Kozhikode was offered admission for the FIFA Master programme, she was beyond elated. Out of 700+ applicants, she was chosen to a part of the 32-member class with a 50% scholarship. But she needs your help.
Aisha Nazia is a Mechanical Engineer by education, but a football fanatic and adventure junkie by passion. Her interests include various cross-functional activities, sports management projects, sustainable development, gender inclusion, and technology. Growing up in an environment where football was a household name, Aisha took interest in the field early on. She quotes, “..it always remained on the fringes of my childhood experience. Sports, in general, has played a major role in the way my character and personality has evolved.”
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The FIFA Master programme is one of the top post-graduate sports management programmes in the world. Selected students will travel to three universities in Europe to study three different modules. Upon competition, students will receive the FIFA Master International in Management, Law, and Humanities of Sport merit.
The opportunity, however, has come with a cost. Since the students have to travel and live in three countries, the expense incurred is quite high.
The programme takes care of 50% of the expense owing to the scholarship. But, Aisha has to bear the other 50%. The overall cost has come to 28 Lakhs ($38000/35000 CHF), which includes course fees, examination fees and associated university expenses. Aisha Nazia is not eligible to take a loan because she already has a home loan in her name. She had taken the loan to build a house for her grandmother and mother. As such, she doesn’t have collateral to provide.
It’s not every day that you see women pursue their dreams, that too, in the field of sports. Aisha Nazia one of the many women in India who’ve received an opportunity of a lifetime. Her financial status shouldn’t be a barrier for her to peruse her dream course. As such, she decided to crowdfund her university expenses. Through this initiative, she also wishes to “pave way for millions of women in this country to crowdfund their educational expense to pursue their dreams and empower themselves with education in the future.”
Given a chance to spearhead an opportunity, women can do wonders. Their gender shouldn’t be a reason to not dream high. Aisha is so close to attaining her dream goal, but without our help, she wouldn’t be able to break the glass ceiling. The sports field in India is male-dominated. The reason behind it is that many women do not have the opportunity to hone or explore their skills. But, there are many who challenge the norms and become role models for other aspirants. This paves way for better opportunities for women in the sports field.
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If you wish to support and contribute to Aisha Nazia’s crowdfunding efforts, head over here. She will forever be grateful.
