Nita Football Academy is an Indian women's professional football club and academy based in Radha Damodarpur, Cuttack, Odisha. It is the first private residential football academy of Odisha, dedicated to promoting football among underprivileged girls. They are the current champions of the Odisha Women's League and Khelo India State Championships U-17. Many of the academy students have represented at sub-junior, junior, and senior national levels. They finished runners-up in the 2023–24 season of the Indian Women's League 2, which enabled promotion to the top tier Indian Women's League.[1][2][3]
Established in 2011, Nita Football Academy was founded by the Nita Football Trust with the mission of promoting football, particularly among underprivileged girls. The academy is affiliated to Cuttack District Athletic Association, Football Association of Odisha (FAO), and were conditionally accredited as an Advanced Private Residential Academy by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).[4][5] Its headquarters are located at Dhabaleswar Institute of Polytechnique, Radha Damodarpur, Khuntuni, near Cuttack, and they will be playing the Indian Women's League 2024-25 at the Birsa Munda Athletic Stadium at Rourkela as their home ground.[6]
The academy has girls in under-19, under-17, and under-15 categories training under supporting coaches, administrative staff, matron, hostel facilities, full-fledged canteen, physiotherapist, ambulance services, on-call doctor and an advanced gymnasium. The academy also takes care of the player’s education by providing facilities in the technical education and in nearby school and colleges. The academy also operates in Puri to train students using the infrastructure facilities of Puri Zilla School.
^Media Team, AIFF (24 October 2024). "Indian Women's League 2024-25 Fixture"(PDF). the-aiff.com. New Delhi: All India Football Federation. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
Paromita Sit