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AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey outlined the national women’s team’s 2024 AFC Asian Cup prep, including the 2025-26 IWL season, U20 participation, and extensive camps.
All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey. (AIFF)
On Friday, All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey discussed with his colleagues the roadmap for the national women’s team’s preparation for next year’s AFC Asian Cup in Australia.
Plans were made to schedule the 2025-26 Indian Women’s League (IWL) season from September 2025 to January 2026, featuring eight teams playing 14 matches each.
The Indian U20 women’s team will also participate in the IWL. The AIFF stated that this early scheduling would provide ample preparation time for the Women’s Asian Cup, set to take place from March 1 to 21.
Additionally, the Blue Tigresses will undergo 83 days of preparatory camps, conducted in three phases. These will include 10-12 international friendlies and 5-7 matches with domestic teams.
To effectively manage this calendar, the AIFF will engage with all IWL club owners to seek their support and cooperation in releasing players for the camps as needed for the national interest.
With this plan, the AIFF projected that each player would play at least 30 matches between August and February, combining both club and international commitments.
To ensure uninterrupted national team preparation leading up to the Asian Cup, it was suggested that the senior women’s national football championship for the Rajmata Jijabai Trophy 2025-26 be scheduled after the conclusion of the continental tournament.
Why AIFF Is Making Changes To IWL?
India secured a memorable qualification for the continental tournament finals with a thrilling 2-1 victory over hosts Thailand last Friday.
The win helped India top Group B of the Qualifiers with a perfect record—four wins from four matches.
For the first time, the Blue Tigresses have booked a ticket to the continental championship through the qualification route.
Chaubey held a meeting with AIFF’s deputy secretary general M. Satyanarayan, technical director Syed Sabir Pasha, director of national teams Subrata Paul, Indian women’s national team head coach Crispin Chettri, and assistant coach Priya PV.
(With inputs from PTI)
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha…Read More
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket content, ha… Read More
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