The senior women’s national team suffered a 1-0 last-minute defeat to Kosovo in their final game of the Turkish Women’s Cup and had to settle for the second spot. Only a victory would ensure India’s first international trophy outside SAFF instead the five-year wait for a silverware continues. However, the best showing ever in the Turkish Women’s Cup will be the team's hope for better days to come. Before that, the U-19 side took part in the SAFF Championship where they were jointly crowned champions with Bangladesh in a controversial final.
With a mixed start to 2024, one positive to take away is the number of competitions in women’s football set to be hosted this year compared to others. Despite that, FIFA windows are still not fully utilized and the national team will still have fewer games to compete. However, the national league structure is having a shake-up with more junior-level competitions to be organized this year. The calendar will be busy and the expansion of the length of the IWL is a positive thing to look at.
Here we look at the Indian Women’s Football competition in 2024 after the Turkish Women’s Cup:
SAFF U-16 Women’s Championship (1 March - 10 March 2024)
For the first time, SAFF is hosting the Women’s Championship for the U16 with Nepal hosting the inaugural edition starting on 1st March 2024. As always, India will want to script their name as the first winners of the tournament with Bhutan and Bangladesh also taking part. Head coach Biby Thomas Muttath has arranged a 23-player squad from 13 different states which shows the diversity in the team. The competition will be held in a round-robin format with the top two teams competing in the final on March 10, 2024.
IWL 2023/24 (Ongoing - till March 2024)
Following the international break, the Indian Women’s League or IWL returns in March with the final three match rounds of the season remaining to be played. Three consecutive-time winners Gokulam Kerala have taken the ascendency again after Odisha FC made the top spot theirs for most of the season. The title is a three-horse race now with last year's finalists Kickstart FC also in the mix. There is an interesting battle occurring at the bottom of the table as well with East Bengal FC and Sports Odisha desperate to avoid being the first-ever side to get relegated.
Age-group competitions (July - August 2024)
This year’s underage football championship of the women’s division is scheduled to begin in the period from July to August 2024. The U-19 or Junior Girls National Football Championship will take place from July 15 - July 31 2024 followed by the Sub-Junior Girls NFC, which is the U-17 level, from August 5 - 31 2024.
AFC Women’s Champions League (August 25, 2024 - May 24, 2025)
The newly introduced women’s club competition in Asia by AFC will be held from 2024-25. A total of 12 teams will participate in the tournament which will have a group stage with a single round-robin format and knockouts. Beginning in August 2024, it will stretch over ten months with the final on May 24, 2025. The previous three editions were pilot tournaments with Gokulam Kerala representing India on each occasion. Their best-ever finish came last year. The winner of this season’s IWL is expected to play in the AFC Women’s Champions League.
Senior Women's NFC Group Stage (1 - 15 September 2024) and Final Round (1 - 15 October 2024)
After the qualifiers last year, the group stages and the final round of the Senior Women’s National Football Championship will begin in September 2024 and run until the next month. The games will be hosted in West Bengal who are automatically qualified to the final stage. Along with them, defending champions Tamil Nadu and runners-up Haryana were immune from the qualifiers. The six group winners and three best runners-up of the first round make it 11 teams at this stage, set to battle to crown this edition’s champions.
SAFF Women’s Championship 2024 (October 2024)
The only other FIFA window that will be utilised by the Indian Women’s team after the Turkish Women’s Cup in late February is the SAFF Women’s Championship. The seventh edition of the tournament is set to be hosted in October 2024. After winning the first five tournaments, India’s streak was broken in the last edition. The Blue Tigresses were beaten by hosts Nepal in the semifinals in 2022 with Bangladesh emerging as new champions.
IWL 2024/25 (October 25, 2024 - April 30, 2025)
The new season of the IWL begins in late October 2024 with the league stretching over seven months.
