Schoolgirls from a remote village in Islampur, most of whose parents work as daily labourers, fish vendors or farmers, have again emerged as Bengal’s best in under-17 girls’ football.

The team from Nandajhar AT High School defended their state-level Subroto Cup title on Saturday at Calcutta’s Yuva Bharati Krirangan, securing a place in the national-level championship to be held in Delhi in August. They will now face some of India’s top school teams in the national rounds of the Subroto Cup.

The school had won the Bengal leg last year as well.

Most of the players come from underprivileged families, juggling football with household chores.

Yet, they dominated the tournament, a testimony to sheer willpower and months of hard work under their coach Chandan Paul, an AIFF-certified trainer.

After earning a direct berth in the inter-district stage as last year’s champions, the girls beat Hatimari Higher Secondary School (Malda) 2-1 in the quarterfinal, thrashed Parul Ramkrishna Sarada Vidyapith (Hooghly) 7-0 in the semifinal, and clinched the final against Sarala Bhupendranath Sarkar High School (Howrah) in a tie-breaker (5-4).

Paul said the journey was far from easy. “Lovely Mondal, who was named player of the match, is the daughter of a daily-wage worker. Neha Barui, the tournament’s top scorer, is the daughter of a fish vendor. Susmita Singha, who won best goalkeeper, is the daughter of a farmer. After training, most of them don’t even get proper food,” he told The Telegraph.

Paul trains around 50 local boys and girls on a village ground in Nandajhar, about 40km from Islampur town. The school gave the team its tournament affiliation. The district administration pitched in with footballs and kits.

Headmistress Ruma Das said a warm reception awaited the team when it returns from Calcutta on Monday.