 de Sousa in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Yolanda de Sousa Kammermeier | ||
| Date of birth | 1955 (age 70–71)[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Calangute, Goa, Portuguese India (now India) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-forward[2][3] | ||
| Youth career | |||
| – | Calangute Women's FC[4] | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1975–1979 | Calcutta Women's FC[4] | ||
| – | Goa | ||
| – | Bengal[2] | ||
| National team | |||
| 1976–1981 | India | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Yolanda de Sousa Kammermeier (born 1955)[1] is an Indian former footballer and artist who played as a centre-forward for the Indian national team.[2][3] She captained the Indian team that finished as runners-up at the 1980 AFC Women's Championship.[5][3]
De Sousa is widely known as the first Indian woman to score an international hat-trick, a feat she achieved in 1978 during a tournament in Calcutta against Singapore, earning her the nickname "Hat-trick Queen".[2][5]
Early life[edit | edit source]
De Sousa is from Calangute in Goa.[4] She grew up with seven sisters and one brother in a family that strongly supported her playing football; her brother would wake her for practice, prepare her kit, and attend her matches.[3] She played hockey before taking up football, and began her playing career with the Calangute Women's Football Club.[6][4]
Football career[edit | edit source]
Domestic career[edit | edit source]
In 1975, de Sousa moved to Calcutta (now Kolkata) and joined the Calcutta Women's Football Club (CWFC).[4][3] With CWFC, she won the Stafford Challenge Cup in 1976, defeating a club from Pune in the final.[4][2]
She also represented the state teams of Goa and Bengal, captaining Goa to their first victory in the women's national championships.[2][4][3]
International career[edit | edit source]
De Sousa captained the Indian national team as a centre-forward.[4][5] In 1978, playing in the Women's International Football Tournament in Calcutta, described as an unofficial Asian Cup, she scored the first international hat-trick by an Indian woman, against Singapore.[3][2][5]
She later captained India at the 1980 AFC Women's Championship in Calicut, where the team finished as runners-up; de Sousa was the tournament's joint top scorer.[3][5]
Personal life and art career[edit | edit source]
De Sousa retired from football in 1979 and was subsequently employed by the Sports Authority of Goa.[4][3] She is also a professional artist, working under her married name, Yolanda de Sousa Kammermeier, and runs the art gallery Galeria de Belas Artes at Castelo Vermelho in Calangute.[3][7] As of 2017, she resided in her hometown of Calangute with her husband, Mahendra.[4]
Honours[edit | edit source]
- Calcutta Women's FC
- Stafford Challenge Cup: 1976
- India
- 1980 AFC Women's Championship runner-up: 1980
- Individual
- Joint top scorer, 1980 AFC Women's Championship
Career statistics[edit | edit source]
International goals[edit | edit source]
- Scores and results list India's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 12 January 1980 | Calicut EMS Stadium, Calicut, India | File:Flag of Hong Kong 1959.svg Hong Kong | 2–0 | 1980 AFC Women's Championship |
| 2. | 19 January 1980 | Calicut EMS Stadium, Calicut, India | File:Flag of Hong Kong 1959.svg Hong Kong | 3–1 | 1980 AFC Women's Championship |
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "The turf has changed, but the flashes of brilliance continue". The Times of India. 30 April 2017.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "Who Is Yolanda D'Souza: The 'Hat-trick Queen' Of Indian Football". SheThePeople. 28 September 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 "Heart and Hat-tricks: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Footballer". NewsClick. 25 December 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 "Turning on the magic". The Times of India. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 "Trailblazers go down memory lane as India hosts AFC Women's Asian Cup". Business Standard. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
- ↑ "With hockey as an excuse, veterans meet on pitch to relive old memories". The Times of India. 16 January 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
- ↑ "Art Chamber, Panjim, India - Reviews, Ratings, Tips and Why You Should Go". Wanderlog. Retrieved 3 March 2026.