In the Final Round, NFA started their campaign with a 1-3 loss to Sreebhumi FC earlier on May 10. But the resurgent Odisha team bounced back into the title race, winning three of their last four matches and drawing one.

NFA capped the Final Round campaign, pulverising SAG Football Academy 8-1 in their fifth and last match today. Sikha Malik was the spearhead of the NFA attack, scoring four goals today and a total of seven in the Final Round.

NFA qualified for the Final Round by finishing second with eight points in the Preliminary League (Group-A), which was held earlier at Amal Dutta Krirangan in Kolkata from 24 March to 1 April 2024. The Odisha outfit played four matches, won two and drew two.

NFA will be the sixth team from Odisha to feature in IWL. The other five are: Rising Students Club, Odisha Police, SAI-STC Cuttack, Odisha FC and Sports Odisha. Among the Odisha teams, Cuttack-based Rising Students Club emerged champions in 2017-18 and finished runners-up in 2016-17, while Bhubaneswar-based Odisha FC claimed the title this year (2023-24 season).

ABOUT NITA FOOTBALL ACADEMY: A private football academy with its base at Dhabaleswar Polytechnique Institute, Radha Damodarpur, Khuntuni, Cuttack, NFA was founded on 20 August 2018 with Subrat Das, an engineer, as its chairman and Arun Parija as secretary. The residential academy has 110 registered players from Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal. NFA is equipped with quality infrastructure, qualified coaches and support staff. It also provides free education to its trainees.

NFA TEAM: Malti Kumari (GK), Pipili Mohanty (Captain), Pratima Bangal, Joshna Lakra, Nishima Kumari, Roshni Tigga, Deblina Bhattacharjee, Lalita Boypai, Babita Kumari, Priya Rui Das, Sikha Malik, Sakro Hembram, Sushmita Kumari, Nibedita Nayak, Anjali Gurumayum, Provati Barla, Asrafi Khatun, Titli Sarkar, Kranti Oraon, M Roshni, Roshni Baskey, Gayatri Das, Naina Kumari, Anisha Oraon, Anju, Kavita, Mamta Kumari.
Chief Coach: Pratima Biswas, Assistant Coach: Sasmita Sahoo, Manager: Pradeep Kumar Rout.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS OF NITA FOOTBALL ACADEMY:

GROUP STAGE (Group-B):
24 March 2024 (Match 1): Nita Football Academy (Lalita Boypai 39) drew with CASA Barwani (Kuni Munda 72-P) 1-1. PoM: Priya Rui Das (Nita FA).
26 March 2024 (Match 2): Nita Football Academy (Priya Rui Das 4, 69, Nibedita Nayak 21) beat Pune Krida Prabhodhini (Aditi Gadekar 39, Vaishnavi Pawar 49) 3-2. PoM: Priya Rui Das.
28 March 2024 (Match 3): Nita Football Academy (Deblina Bhattacharjee 46, Babita Kumar 90+1) beat MGM Ambush 2-0. PoM: Babita Kumari.
1 April 2024 (Match 4): Nita Football Academy drew with Sreebhumi FC 0-0. PoM: Sujata Mahata (Sreebhumi FC).

FINAL ROUND:
20 May 2024 (Match 1): Nita Football Academy (Sikha Malik 70) lost to Sreebhumi Football Club (Kai Rumi 2, Rimpa Haldar 57, Mousumi Murmu 74) 1-3. PoM: Mousumi Murmu.
22 May 2024 (Match 2): Nita Football Academy (Babita Kumari 61, Roshni Tigga 67) beat Pudhuvai Unicorns (Keerthana M 8) 2-1. PoM: Babita Kumari.
24 May 2024 (Match 3): Nita Football Academy (Babita Kumari 64) drew with Tuem (Fatima Braganza 56) 1-1. PoM: Laxmi Tamang (Tuem).
26 May 2024 (Match 4): Nita Football Academy (Sikha Malik 57, 90, Roshni Tigga 83) beat Garhwal United (Shruti Kumari 86) 3-1. PoM: Sikha Malik.
28 May 2024 (Match 5): Nita Football Academy (Sikha Malik 27, 33, 80, 88, Babita Kumari 44, 87, Lalita Boypai 71, Roshni Tigga 90+1) beat SAG Football Academy (Guddi Gundiya 55) 8-1. PoM: Sikha Malik.
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TOP: Players, coaches and support staff of Nita Football Academy pose with their chairman Subrat Das after finishing IWL-2 runners-up in Goa on 28 May 2024.
RIGHT: Nita Football Academy forward Sikha Malik poses after scoring four goals in their last match against SAG Football Academy in Goa on 28 May 2024.