The Indian Women's League, known as ''Hero Indian Women's League'' for sponsorship ties with

Hero MotoCorp Hero MotoCorp Limited (formerly Hero Honda) is an Indian multinational motorcycle and scooter manufacturer headquartered in New Delhi. The company is one of the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in the world, as well as in India, where it h ...

is the

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

top tier professional

football league The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

in Indian football. Founded in 2016, currently a total of 18 teams from across the country will participate in the league from 2022-23 Season. The competition was planned since 2014 and got established in 2016, with the first season starting from October 2016 in Cuttack. The league was launched as India's first professional football league for women with the aim to increase the player pool for India national team. Since 2019–20, the clubs that become champions are granted an opportunity to play in the

AFC Women's Club Championship The AFC Women's Club Championship is the top-tier women's football club competition in Asia. It involves the top clubs from countries affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Designed as pilot tournaments, the format will change i ...

, the top tier women's club football competition in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. Until now four clubs have crowned

champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

: Eastern Sporting Union, Rising Students' Club, Sethu and Gokulam Kerala. Out of them Gokulam Kerala lifted the championship trophy twice.

History

Origin

Since 1991, the top women's football tournament in India has been the

Senior Women's National Football Championship Senior Women's National Football Championship is the women's football tournament which is contested by state associations and government institutions in India. The first edition was held in 1991 and is organized by the All India Football Fede ...

, organised by the

All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. It is affiliated to Ministry ...

. The tournament served as a female equivalent of the

Santosh Trophy The Santosh Trophy, officially known as Hero Senior Men's National Football Championship due to sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp, is a state-level football competition contested by the state associations and government institutions under ...

, with regional teams competing against each other. There had not been an organized national football league for women clubs; however, the first women's football league was set up by the Indian Football Association (West Bengal) in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

Calcutta Women's Football League The Calcutta Women's Football League, also known as the Kanyashree Cup, is a women's football league in the Indian state of West Bengal. Founded in 1993, it is the oldest women's football league in India and organised by Indian Football Associ ...

in 1993. Regional leagues were also organised in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

and Goa in 1998 and 1999 respectively by the respective state associations. But unfortunately due to lack of support, these amateur leagues were postponed for a long period or completely dissolved after a short run.

Foundation

In 2014, after the success of the India women's team, mainly in the

SAFF Women's Championship The SAFF Women's Championship, also called the ''South Asian Football Federation Women's Cup'', is the main association football competition of the women's national football teams, governed by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). All se ...

, a push to start a women's football league, along the lines of recently inaugurated and successful

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federa ...

, happened. Clubs such as

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

and

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

expressed interests in joining a national women's league. It was around this time that AIFF started plans to create a league for women along the lines of ISL. On 21 April 2016, the AIFF president

Praful Patel Praful Manoharbhai Patel (born 17 February 1957) is an Indian Nationalist Congress Party politician, industrialist and sports administrator. He was the president of India's association football governing body the All India Football Federatio ...

said that Indian Women's League would kick-off in October with six teams to be decided, and goal to expand to eight teams by 2017. Over two months later, on 5 July, AIFF organized a workshop to discuss the India women's national team and proposed women's football league. Five

sides–

Delhi Dynamos Odisha Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. Prior to the inaugural Indian Super League season, the club was founded ...

, Chennaiyin,

Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established i ...

Pune City Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

and

Atletico de Kolkata ATK (formerly Atlético de Kolkata) was an Indian professional football club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. The club competed in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football and were the league champions during the inaugural 2 ...

, and three

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the wi ...

teams–

Aizawl Aizawl (; Mizo: ) is the capital of the state of Mizoram in India. Aizawl was officially established on 25 February 1890. With a population of 293,416, it is the largest city in the state. It is also the centre of administration containing all ...

and

, attended the workshop. It was announced that the league would feature eight teams and two other spots would be determined through a preliminary round. The primary objective of the tournament was to capitalise the potential of Indian women and prepare them for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

, so as to eventually qualify for

AFC Women's Asian Cup The AFC Women's Asian Cup (formerly known as the AFC Women's Championship) is a quadrennial competition in women's football for national teams which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It is the oldest women's international football ...

and

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's international governing bod ...

. The

preliminary round A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

of the inaugural season was played from 17–26 October in

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literally ...

by 8 teams qualifying through a national qualifier of 20 teams across the country, and the main round of six teams took place the following year from 28 January to 14 February in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

. The six teams to participate in the main round were

, Alakhpura, Eastern Sporting Union, Jeppiaar Institute,

and Rising Students' Club, and top four teams are decided to play the semi-finals after a single round-robin stage. Aizawl and Pune City were the only clubs from

and ISL to field their women teams in the competition and had achieved direct qualification in main round. Eastern Sporting Union defeated Rising Students' Club by 3–0 in the final and became the inaugural champion of IWL.

Expansion and improvements (2017–''present'')

The following season, the AIFF extended their partnership with

and branded the league as Hero IWL. The organisers also allowed the signing of foreign players in the main round but restricted to only two foreigners in matchday squad, while only one could be named in the starting eleven. This season no ISL or I-League club, except Gokulam Kerala, participated in the competition, therefore six teams were promoted from the

to the main round. Gokulam Kerala became the first Indian club to sign a foreigner, as they included two

Ugandan }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The souther ...

internationals–

Fazila Ikwaput Fazila Ikwaput (born 15 September, 1995 ) is an Ugandan women's association football, footballer who plays for Gokulam Kerala FC (women), Gokulam Kerala and Uganda women's national football team. Club career Ikwaput in 2017–18 Indian Women ...

and Rita Nabbosa. The only other club to sign foreigners was Sethu:

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...

internationals

Sabina Khatun Sabina Khatun ( bn, সাবিনা খাতুন; born 25 October 1993) is a Bangladeshi professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Bangladesh Women's Football League club Bashundhara Kings and the Bangladesh wom ...

and Krishna Rani Sarkar, and Indian-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

midfielder

Tanvie Hans Tanvie Hans is a British professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Misaka United in the Karnataka Women's League. She also plays for Karnataka women's football team. She previously played for English clubs Tottenham Hotspurs and Fu ...

. The preliminary round was played at

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is ...

from 25 November to 8 December 2017 among thirteen teams, and the main round was held from 26 March to 14 April 2018 in

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the 330th most populous city in India with a ...

. Last season's finalists met once again in the finals, but Rising Students' Club beat Eastern Sporting Union this time in the

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

to win the league. From 2018–19 season, the qualification of teams was decided based on the results in respective state leagues, and the number of teams was also doubled to twelve. The format was also changed, and teams were divided into two groups to decide the top two from each group playing in the semi-finals. The season culminated with Sethu becoming the champion of IWL. Since 2019,

AFC AFC may stand for: Organizations * Action for Children, a UK children's charity * AFC Enterprises, the franchisor of Popeye's Chicken and Biscuits * Africa Finance Corporation, a pan-African multilateral development finance institution * A ...

and

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

jointly organised

, and India decided to participate in the second edition of the competition to be held in

2021 AFC Women's Club Championship The 2021 AFC Women's Club Championship (also known as the AFC Women’s Club Championship 2021 Pilot Tournament (West)) was the second edition of AFC's premier women's club football competition, held between 7 and 13 November. Four clubs from fou ...

. Therefore, the winner of the 2019–20 season was decided to be the probable representative of India in the continental tournament. At the final of the tournament, Gokulam Kerala became the champion of the season after remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament, thus became the first club to win the top-tier league of both men's and women's, and also the first Indian team to play in AFC Women's Club Championship. In 2021–22, the AIFF changed the format to a single

round-robin tournament A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & C. Me ...

and the team that would remain at the top of the table at the end, would be declared as the champions. Gokulam Kerala became the first club to defend their league title by finishing the season unbeaten, hence qualifying for the continental tournament for the second time in a row. In

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, the league got expanded to 18 teams with the top four teams of previous season to be eligible for direct qualification to next season's league irrespective of their results in respective state leagues.

Format

The competition format had varied over the initial seasons, but mostly played as a knock-out tournament where four teams qualified for the single-legged semi-finals through the group stage played in single round-robin format and eventually one would be declared as the champion by winning the final. Currently, the competition follows single round-robin league format of 12 rounds played at a single venue. The winners of respective state tournaments, along with previous season's top four teams, receive direct qualification to the league. The interested clubs from the regions without any state tournament are to register for the IWL Qualifiers and earn a spot in the main round by winning the qualifier. Clubs receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss, and are ranked by total points, with the highest-ranked club at the end of the season being crowned Champions. If two or more teams are level on points, the following criteria are applied in order until one of the teams can be determined as the higher ranked: * Highest number of points accumulated in matches between the teams concerned * Highest goal difference in matches between the teams concerned * Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams concerned * Highest goal difference * Highest number of goals score * Lowest number of red cards accumulated * Lowest number of yellow cards accumulated * Toss of a coin.

Champions

Performance by season

Performance by club

Media coverage

The first four seasons of the league lacked

TV broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...

, and matches were live streamed on the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel and the

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

page of Indian Football. Live updates of matches were also available on the

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

profile of Indian Football. In 2022, the AIFF reached a deal with

Eurosport India Eurosport India (formerly known as DSport) is an Indian sports channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific. It was launched as ''DSport'' in February 2017 with a partnership between Discovery India and Lex Sportel. In January 2020, Lex ...

to telecast the fifth edition of IWL, but only 30 matches out of total 66 matches were telecasted.

Clubs

Winning head coaches

Stats and players

Top goal scorers

Top scorers by season

References

External links

Official website
the-AIFF.com {{Sports leagues of India 2016 establishments in India I Football in India

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...