The winner of the Indian Women’s League gets a chance to play in the next edition of the AFC Women's Club Championship. Gokulam Kerala are defending champions.
The Indian Women's League (IWL) football tournament will return after a hiatus of two years with the fifth edition – 2021-22 season – to be held at three venues in Bhubaneswar from April 15 to May 25. The matches will be played at the Kalinga Stadium, the Seventh Battalion Ground and the Capital Ground. (More Football News)
The tournament will feature 12 teams that will fight it out in a round-robin league format, with the champions getting the chance to play in the next edition of the AFC Women's Club Championship. The team that finishes with the highest number of points after 11 matches will be declared winners.
Defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC will be joined by Odisha Police, Hans Women FC (Delhi), Kickstart FC (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 will take place in New Delhi from April 1 to 5, where four clubs -- Guwahati City FC, Golazo FC, ARA FC and YWC -- will fight it out at the Ambedkar Stadium in a round-robin format with the top team proceeding to the tournament main tournament.
“It’s great that we are being able to have the Hero 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 Sunando Dhar.
“We will have the Hero 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.”