The Indian Women’s League (IWL) has undergone one of the most significant structural evolutions in Indian sport over the past decade.
Launched in 2016 as a modest, centrally run pilot competition, the league has steadily transformed into a multi-tiered, performance-driven ecosystem that now forms the backbone of women’s club football in the country. As the IWL enters its 2025–26 season, its journey reflects a broader shift in governance, professionalism and ambition within Indian women’s football .
Before the IWL’s inception, competitive women’s football in India was largely confined to state-level tournaments such as the Senior Women’s National Football Championship. While regions like Manipur and West Bengal had strong football cultures, the absence of a national club league severely limited player development and professional opportunities. The 2016–17 season marked a turning point, with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) introducing a structured national league featuring a preliminary round followed by a centralised final round in New Delhi.
That inaugural season immediately highlighted the strength of the northeastern states. Eastern Sporting Union from Manipur emerged as the first champions, validating the long-standing semi-professional structures in the region. Importantly, early participation from clubs linked to the men’s ecosystem, including Indian Super League and I-League entities, hinted at a future where women’s football would be integrated into mainstream club identities.
The league’s next major leap came in 2017–18 with the introduction of foreign players and the appointment of the IWL’s first foreign head coach. Allowing overseas players into squads brought a new technical benchmark, forcing domestic players to adapt to higher physical and tactical demands. Ugandan forward Fazila Ikwaput’s arrival at Gokulam Kerala FC was particularly influential, offering Indian football its first sustained exposure to an elite, modern striker profile.
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Equally transformative was the arrival of foreign coaching expertise. Claude Bolton’s tenure at India Rush FC introduced new pedagogical ideas, emphasising decision-making, creativity and psychological freedom over rigid instruction. This period subtly reshaped coaching culture across the league, moving it closer to international norms.
By 2018–19, the IWL began decentralising its qualification framework. Instead of a single preliminary round, teams earned places based on performances in their respective state leagues. This reform strengthened the federal structure of Indian football, incentivising state associations to invest in women’s leagues as direct pathways to the national stage. The season also crowned Sethu FC as champions, powered by Nepalese star Sabitra Bhandari, who would go on to become the league’s all-time leading scorer.
Continental integration followed soon after. The 2019–20 season granted the IWL champion a place in the AFC Women’s Club Championship, formally linking domestic success with Asia’s elite competitions. Gokulam Kerala FC’s title win that season, followed by their participation in the continental championship, exposed Indian clubs to stricter licensing standards and international tactical realities. Although the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted momentum, the experience proved invaluable for long-term growth.
When the league returned in 2021–22, it did so with a full league format, prioritising match volume and competitive rhythm. Gokulam Kerala’s perfect season that year highlighted both their institutional strength and the widening gap between fully professional setups and seasonal teams. The following season, 2022–23, represented the IWL’s most ambitious expansion, with 16 teams competing before the ecosystem was formally split into two tiers IWL and IWL 2. This move ended direct state-league access and introduced a clearer professional hierarchy.
The modernisation phase accelerated in 2023–24. For the first time, the league adopted a home-and-away format, introduced mid-season transfer windows, and aligned fully with FIFA’s Global Transfer Management System. The champions that year, Odisha FC, demonstrated how state-backed infrastructure could thrive within a professional framework, breaking Gokulam Kerala’s dominance.
Perhaps the most defining shift came in 2024–25 with the introduction of promotion and relegation. Performance now carried tangible consequences, reshaping competitive behaviour across the league. In a dramatic illustration of this new reality, defending champions Odisha FC were relegated, while promoted sides like Sribhumi FC and Nita FA injected fresh energy into the top tier. East Bengal FC capitalised on this volatility, winning their maiden IWL title and later lifting the SAFF Women’s Club Championship without conceding a goal.
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The ongoing 2025–26 season reflects a league adapting to external pressures. With international commitments crowding the calendar, the IWL has adopted a split-season format, returning temporarily to centralised venues in West Bengal. Early results suggest a highly competitive landscape, with traditionally mid-table teams challenging established powers, indicating that the tiered system is driving rapid improvement.
Across its nine seasons, the IWL’s evolution has been defined by gradual but deliberate reform. The controlled expansion of foreign player quotas has raised technical standards, while professional coaching appointments have diversified tactical approaches. Financial clarity and regulatory alignment have attracted new corporate stakeholders, even as logistical challenges continue to shape scheduling decisions.
More importantly, the league has become a genuine development engine for the national team. Indian players moving abroad to leagues in Scotland, Cyprus and Australia trace their readiness back to the competitive environment created by the IWL. As the league approaches its tenth season, its role as a high-performance platform ahead of major Asian competitions has never been clearer.
The Indian Women’s League no longer resembles the centralised experiment it began as in 2016. It stands today as a structured, merit-based professional pyramid imperfect, evolving, but indispensable to the future of women’s football in India.
