March 26 :    March 26:  Two city girls won the opportunity of a lifetime to play in the German professional women's soccer league only to see it being frittered away. Sujata Kar and Alpana Seal were invited by TSV Crailsheim, a second division team in the German league, to play for them. But neither they nor Indian authorities were well versed in the rules governing world soccer: Sujata and Alpana were forced to return because they did not have the requisite international clearance from the All-India Football Federation (AIFF). Two years ago, ace India striker Bhaichung Bhutia, too, could not make the grade because of the ignorance of the formalities involved. But that event opened the eyes of Indian footballers to possibilities overseas even if the country's national team is reduced to a pariah status in the world game. Sujata and Alpana, too, were inspired by the invitation Bhaichung had received from an English club to attend its trials. For the AIFF, the administrator of the game in the country, and the Indian Football Association, which runs soccer in Calcutta, the failure to clear the two girls in time is yet another instance of ad hocism. For the the two girls, it is a tragedy borne out of ignorance. Both Sujata, who will turn 19 in May, and Alpana, 19, come from poor families. Despite their constraints, their parents leave nothing to chance, willing on their wards to excel in the sport of their choice. A stint in German professional football would have changed the lives, and the livelihoods - the German authorities had arranged jobs for them - of the girls and their families. Sujata's father dabbles in small time real estate business. They live in a small two room tenement in Shahidnagar, Jadavpur. Her 17-year-old brother Biswajit plays for Tata Football Academy. Alpana is a group D staffer with the Income Tax department. Till her talent got her the job, the family's only source of income was a shop run in their small home in Sirity near Garia. Sujata is a striker and Alpana a midfielder in the Indian team. Sujata has represented India in Sepak Takraw at an international meet in Bangkok. In the Calcutta league, both play for Income Tax . 'We know little about rules,' says Sujata. 'We did what we were told by our elders in the game.' They were first contacted by Absar Sattar, a Calcuttan who is a professional referee in the German league, when the Indian team visited Stuttgart in 1997 for a preparatory camp before the As-ian championship in China.The Indian team played a friendly match against TSV Crailsheim (which won 3-2) and the German club's authorities made inquiries about the two through Sattar. 'We refused then because we did not know what it meant,' recalls Sujata. 'Only after Bhaic-hung was invited to England that we started wondering if we were not missing an opportunity.' In November last year, TSV Crailsheim, based in Oberliga Baden-Württemberg, contacted the girls again. At the time, both were playing in the Calcutta local league. They finally made it to Germany on February 15. Shortly afterwards, Sujata and Alpana played for TSV Crailsheim in a trial match against another club. Both played as midfielders and entered the pitch in the second half. Crailsheim won the match 3-2. Impressed, the club's manager, Hubert Oechsner, sought their papers. A desperate Sujata and Alpana got in touch with the AIFF which issued an 'on date clearance.' But the rules stipulate that to represent clubs overseas, players must have a three-month clearance from their countries. But Sujata and Alpana were playing in the local league when they should have been urging the AIFF and the IFA to process their papers. The duo approached the AIFF just before heading for Germany as they could not mobilise funds for international travel. AIFF boss Priya Ranjan Das Munshi claimed the two girls had been cleared. But there was a communication gap. 'We did give them Rs 70,000 that covered their air fare, but they had left things to the last minute,' says AIFF spokesman Bablu De. 'It is actually the fault of the IFA. The German football authorities are blaming the IFA which kept them committed to the local league.' The IFA, for its part, blames the Income Tax club. 'The girls did not apply for the clearance in time,' said Ranjit Gupta, the IFA joint secretary. 'It's probably because Income Tax thought it will win the local championship this year and Sujata and Alpana were too valuable for them to lose.' The Income Tax club, in its turn, blames the girls and the AIFF and the IFA. 'First, the girls left it till too late and now they are complaining that we did not help them enough. It should have been clear after the Bhaichung incident that FIFA rules say if they are playing in the national league they cannot play abroad without three months' clearance,' said the club's Tapan Ganguly. Sujata and Alpana are praying that the German authorities extend the invitation this year too. But it might be a different story now. Sujata said TSV Crailsheim, having topped its group, was set to move into the first division when they left Germany on March 14. As they packed their backs, the only words of consolation Hubert Oechsner, TSV Crailsheim manager, had for them were : 'I tried very hard. But why doesn't India want you to play here - that is what it looks like to me.'