Calcutta: Girls in the city will now score in life and on the football field with a kick.

Damini, a project to teach girls aged between 10 and 16 how to play football, kicked off on the Park Circus Maidan on Saturday.

Park Circus is one of the five training grounds for girls.

An initiative of city police and Shreeja India, an NGO working towards empowering tribal and marginalised women through sports, the project aims to help underprivileged children in cities.

The project aims at identifying football talent apart from fighting child marriage, human trafficking, and domestic violence among others.

"Football has an appeal and Shreeja India tries to unleash the power in the game to change our surroundings," Hari Shankar Dasgupta, country head, Shreeja India, said.

Weekly classes at each of the five centres in the east, west, north, south and central will start in March.

At least 50 girls will train at each centre. The police will provide the girls with all equipment.

"This is just the beginning. Soon, we will identify the other four venues," Sujay Kumar Chanda, joint commissioner of police, establishment, said.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee wants to empower the women of Bengal, Sashi Panja, minister of state, women and child development and social welfare, said.

She was the chief guest at the event.

Children from various NGOs working with Nabadisha, another project of the city police, were present at the launch. A health check-up was started as part of the project.

Sisters Zarine and Nasreen Khatoon, students of Class VIII of Kasia Bagan Urdu Girls' High School, will now bond over football.

Zarine, a resident of Bright Street, said: "I have watched boys play on the Maidan. I always wanted to play the game but never got a chance. Now, I will play and others will watch.