CHENNAI: In a first, the Indian U20 women's national team will take part in the 2025-26 Indian Women's League (IWL) as part of a roadmap planned by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Friday for next year's AFC Asian Cup.
Last week, the Blue Tigresses secured qualification to the tournament by beating Thailand 2-1 in a Qualifier match. The Women's Asian Cup is set to begin in March 1, 2026 in Australia.
Eight teams will play 14 matches each, from September to January next year. The earlier than usual scheduling would allow for ample preparation time in the lead-up to the Asian Cup next year. The 2024-25 edition started from January and concluded on April.
In addition, the Blue Tigresses will undergo 83 days of preparation camps, conducted in three phases. This will include 10-12 international friendlies and five to seven 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 and when required for the national interest.
Women's team head coach Crispin Chhetri had insisted that the team needs more match fitness by playing 'high intensity,' to this daily.
With this plan, each player is projected to play at least 30 matches between August and February, combining both club and international commitments. To facilitate uninterrupted national team preparation in the lead-up to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, it was also 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.
This came from a meeting chaired by AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey with 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.