Indian Women's League to start from April 25
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) determined at its League Committee meeting on Monday that the next season of the Indian Women's League (IWL) will begin on April 25. The AIFF agreed to let teams hire up to three international players, with a maximum of two of them permitted on the pitch.
Lalnghinglova Hmar presided over the meeting through video conference on Monday. Together with committee members M Satyanarayan, Kiran Chowgule, Reginold Varghese, Amit Chaudhuri, and Caitanno Fernandes, Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran attended the meeting. "The Committee, in its first order of the day, decided that the Hero Indian Women's League shall start from April 25, 2023," AIFF said in a release.
"The Committee took this decision to ensure there was enough gap between the Hero IWL and the Hero 27th Senior Women's National Football Championships 2022-23. "...the Committee took a decision to increase the number of foreigners to three, with a maximum of two allowed on the pitch at the same time. This was considered after clubs had requested the same."
16 teams will be divided into two groups for the IWL. Each group's top four teams will advance to the quarterfinal round. The top eight teams will receive direct invitations to the home-and-away Hero IWL, which will be held the following season.
In an effort to advance and expand the league, the committee also ultimately agreed to add East Bengal for the upcoming season. East Bengal have asked to be taken into consideration for this season's lineup.