Football: As Indian Women’s League returns, a look at the teams, schedule, format and more

The fifth edition of the Indian Women’s League is set to commence on Friday, April 15. Twelve teams will compete in the top division for women’s football in the country, which is taking place for the first time in two years.

All matches will take place across three venues in Bhubaneswar for the competition that will end on May 26.

Gokulam Kerala will begin their title defence against the Odisha Police team on the second day of the competition. They’re hoping to become the first team to successfully defend their title, and also the first to win two championships.

Here’s all you need to know about the league:

Teams

The 12 teams competing are based in 11 different cities across the country.

ARA FC (Ahmedabad)
Gokulam Kerala (Kozhikode)
Hans Women (New Delhi)
Indian Arrows Women (Bhubaneswar)
Kickstart FC (Bangalore)
Mata Rukmani Girls (Bastar)
Odisha Police (Cuttack)
PIFA Sports (Mumbai)
Sethu FC (Chennai)
Sirvodem Sporting (Salcete)
Sports Odisha (Bhubaneswar)
SSB Women (Kolkata)

Format

The tournament will be held in a league format in its entirety.

There will be 66 matches played in the league, as each team plays the other once. A win will earn three points, one for a draw and none for a loss. The team at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the 66 matches will be the champion.

Schedule

April 15:

PIFA Sports FC vs Kickstart FC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
SSB Women FC vs Hans Women FC, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
Indian Arrows vs Sirvodem SC, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

April 16:

Odisha Police vs Gokulam Kerala FC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
Sethu Madurai vs Mata Rukmani FC, 4 PM 7th Battalion Ground
ARA FC vs Odisha Sports, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

April 19:

Hans Women FC vs PIFA Sports FC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
Odisha Sports vs Indian Arrows, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
Gokulam Kerala FC vs SSB Women FC, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

April 20:

Sirvodem SC vs Kickstart FC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
Mata Rukmani FC vs Odisha Police, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
Sethu Madurai vs ARA FC, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

April 23:

Hans Women FC vs Gokulam Kerala FC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
PIFA Sports FC vs Sirvodem SC, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
Kickstart FC vs Odisha Sports, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

April 24:

SSB Women FC vs Mata Rukmani FC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
Odisha Police vs ARA FC, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
Indian Arrows vs Sethu Madurai, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

April 27:

Odisha Police vs Indian Arrows, 4 PM, Capital Ground
Odisha Sports vs Sirvodem SC, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
Mata Rukmani FC vs Hans Women FC, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

April 28:

Sethu Madurai vs Kickstart FC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
ARA FC vs SSB Women FC, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
Gokulam Kerala FC vs PIFA Sports FC, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

May 1:

Gokulam Kerala FC vs Mata Rukmani FC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
SSB Women FC vs Indian Arrows, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
PIFA Sports FC vs Odisha Sports, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

May 2:

Hans Women FC vs ARA FC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
Kickstart FC vs Odisha Police, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
Sirvodem SC vs Sethu Madurai, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

May 5:

Sethu Madurai vs Odisha Sports, 4 PM, Capital Ground
Mata Rukmani FC vs PIFA Sports FC, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
ARA FC vs Gokulam Kerala FC, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

May 6:

Odisha Police vs Sirvodem SC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
Indian Arrows vs Hans Women FC, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
SSB Women FC vs Kickstart FC, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

May 9:

Mata Rukmani FC vs ARA FC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
PIFA Sports FC vs Sethu Madurai, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
Odisha Sports vs Odisha Police, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

May 10:

Gokulam Kerala FC vs Indian Arrows, 4 PM, Capital Ground
Sirvodem SC vs SSB Women FC, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
Hans Women FC vs Kickstart FC, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

May 13:

ARA FC vs PIFA Sports FC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
Odisha Police vs Sethu Madurai, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
Indian Arrows vs Mata Rukmani FC, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

May 14:

Kickstart FC vs Gokulam Kerala FC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
SSB Women FC vs Odisha Sports, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
Hans Women FC vs Sirvodem SC, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

May 17:

ARA FC vs Indian Arrows, 4 PM, Capital Ground
Gokulam Kerala FC vs Sirvodem SC, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
Sethu Madurai vs SSB Women FC, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

May 18:

Mata Rukmani FC vs Kickstart FC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
Odisha Sports vs Hans Women FC, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
PIFA Sports FC vs Odisha Police, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

May 21:

Indian Arrows vs PIFA Sports FC, 4 PM, Capital Ground
Kickstart FC vs ARA FC, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
SSB Women FC vs Odisha Police, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

May 22:

Hans Women FC vs Sethu Madurai, 4 PM, Capital Ground
Sirvodem SC vs Mata Rukmani FC, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
Gokulam Kerala FC vs Odisha Sports, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

May 25:

TBD vs TBD, 4 PM, Capital Ground
TBD vs TBD, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
TBD vs TBD, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

May 26:

TBD vs TBD, 4 PM, Capital Ground
TBD vs TBD, 4 PM, 7th Battalion Ground
TBD vs TBD, 7.30 PM, Kalinga Stadium

Where to watch

Eurosport will be broadcasting 30 of the 66 matches.

Matches at the Capital Ground and Kalinga Stadium will be live streamed on the Indian Football YouTube page.

Here’s some background information from AIFF on the teams in the league (will be updated):