The fifth edition of the Indian Women’s League will commence from April 15 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
The IWL 2021-22 season, scheduled from April 15 to May 26, will follow a league-based format with every team playing each other once. The champions - the team with the highest number of points from 11 matches - will get a chance to play in the next edition of the AFC Women’s Club Championship.
The matches of IWL 2021-22 will be played at the Kalinga Stadium, the Seventh Battalion Ground and the Capital Ground.
The 12 participating teams are defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC (also champions of Kerala), Odisha Police (Odisha), Hans Women FC (Delhi), Kickstart FC Karnataka (Karnataka), Sethu Madurai (Tamil Nadu), PIFA Sports Colaba FC (Maharashtra), Mata Rukmani FC (Chhattisgarh), Sirvodem Sports Club (Goa), Indian Arrows (AIFF’s Developmental Team), SSB Women FC (West Bengal), Sports Odisha (Odisha), and one club from the IWL Qualifiers.
The qualifiers of the IWL 2021-22 season will take place in New Delhi from April 1 to 5, where four clubs – Guwahati City FC, Golazo FC, ARA FC, and Young Welfare will fight it out at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi, in a round-robin format with the top team proceeding to the main tournament.
“It’s great that we are being able to have the IWL once again, and that too in Odisha, a state that has so closely been linked with Indian football over the past,” said AIFF Leagues and Development CEO Mr Sunando Dhar.
“We will have the IWL in a league format this time, which will allow the clubs to play more number of matches, and the champions teams from all the states will be fighting it out for the top prize,” Dhar added.
“We will also have the qualifiers for the IWL in New Delhi, and that will further help the other teams from other states get the opportunity to participate in the league as well,” he further stated. “We wish all the clubs the very best in their endeavours.”
Featured photo: AIFF Media
