100+ clubs interested in playing Indian Women’s League: AIFF

Hero Indian Women's League lgo

NEW DELHI: A significant expansion of the Hero Indian Women's League, which currently comprises 24 teams, is on the anvil, I-League CEO Sunando Dhar has confirmed.

“108 clubs across 14 states have shown interest to play in the Hero Indian Women’s League. The aim is to increase the matches,” Dhar informed the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) executive committee, at its meeting held here Tuesday.

The committee extended its congratulations to the Indian senior women's team for winning the Gold medal at the South Asian Games in Nepal for the third time in a row and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu for winning the Arjuna Award.

AIFF president Praful Patel, in his opening address, said that the federation still had a lot of work to do. He also made a mention of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup preparation, which India is hosting next year.

Dhar further disseminated information about the second division and the Khelo India U-17 Girls League.

"The 2nd Division League will see 20 teams participating. It will kick off in January, and continue till May with a break in between for the Santosh Trophy.

"Furthermore, in coordination with the Ministry for Sports and Youth Affairs, the Khelo India U-17 Girls League is currently on at the moment, all as part of our effort to find talented players for the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2020. We also aim to touch 30,000 players across 21 states in the Golden Baby Leagues, and emphasis is being laid on getting girls introduced to the sport," Dhar informed.

Other important decisions the executive committee took: 
*Launch of a Futsal Club Championship from 2021 
*Launch of AIFF Football Masters Course from mid-2020.
*AIFF Annual General Body Meeting to be held on January 13, 2020.


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