EduKick Naari

The Problem

In India, many young female athletes find themselves at a crossroads when it comes to higher education. While sports quotas in colleges exist as a pathway for them through this tradeoff, the persistent lack of awareness and structured guidance often forces a choice for these athletes, between continuing to pursue their sports or diverting their focus solely to academics. EduKick Naari works to bridge this gap between sporting prowess and higher education opportunities amongst these young female athletes.

The Impact

The initiative runs through structured workshops across NGOs in northern India, where-in students are introduced to and informed of the sports quota system in Indian colleges and how to crack it. The sessions cover everything from eligibility criteria and required documentation to the list of colleges offering quotas and their respective application processes and timelines. Moreover, it culminates in each girl getting the chance to receive personalised guidance, thereby charting their path forwards by combining sports with an academic background. So far, EduKick Naari has directly mentored over 100 young women across various NGOs, including Khel Khel Mein Foundation (KKMF), Dribble Academy, and Mera India Mera Adhikar (MIMA).

Furthermore, the initiative has also developed and distributed a manual in regional languages, offering a practical guidebook towards manoeuvring the sports quota process. As of Sept 2025, This handbook has been adopted by six NGO centres across four Northern states (Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan). For this work, the project was awarded amongst the Top30 in India in the Deakin University NextGen Changemakers Competition (2024), and has qualified for the second round of the Arc Global Sustainability Awards (August 2025).

Our Vision

At its core, EduKick Naari carries a simple vision: no girl should have to give up her passion for sport in order to secure her future in education. By channelizing medals and matches into stepping stones towards higher studies, the project aims to help rewrite the futures of young female athletes across Northern India, levelling the playing field.

The founder of Edukick Naari is Vir Shrinagesh, he is a national athlete and currently a student of Pathways School, Gurgaon. He has played in AIFF tournaments in the U-17 and U-15 categories.