Women's football in India

Early history

The reportedly first women's football match in then British India was organised in Burma (then a province of British Raj) on 23 July 1926 to raise funds for a charity Akyab Relief Fund. The match was held at Municipal Ground at Myaungmya between the sides hailing from the villages of Maungdi and Sinchaung, with the players recruited from the students and staff of the American Baptist Mission and Karen Schools. Maungdi won the game 3–0.^[7]

The first instance of women's football in the Indian provinces occurred in Bengal in the late 1920s. Brajaranjan Ray attempted to start an annual women's football tournament in Calcutta under the aegis of the Women's Sports Association in 1929. He faced severe opposition from the society, but was successful in starting a tournament for the girls' colleges of the city of Calcutta. A handful of colleges such as the Victoria Institution, Asutosh College and Bethune College went on to participate in the tournament.^[8]

In independent India, a women's football match took place on 14 November 1955 at the National Sports Stadium in New Delhi, which was reported as the first "all-India women's football match". The match took place between Blues and Maroons with the Blues winning the match by 3–2. The match was attended by 1000 spectators.^[9]

Consolidation in 1975

Women's football has not had the relative advantage in the sport unlike the men's game, and also has not become as prevalent in the country as its male counterpart. The game was administered by the Women's Football Federation of India (WFFI) from 1975 until the early 1990s, when they were absorbed into the AIFF. However, there were complaints that women's football is treated as a poor relation to the men's game, leading to (unfulfilled) plans to de-merge the WFFI.^[10][11]

The women's game also has its early pioneers in the state of West Bengal. The large Kolkata teams, East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, started women's club sides in the 2000–01 season, and they participated with other teams in the Calcutta Women's Football League. However, it has been seen recently that players from Odisha and Manipur have made advances in the game. Players from these two states make up a large part of the India women's national football team. In 2000, two Indian international Sujata Kar and Alpana Seal went on to attend trial abroad for the first time, with German Frauen-Regionalliga Südwest club TSV Crailsheim Women, but the transfers fall through due to not getting work permit.^[12]

The women's national competition is played on a state vs. state basis in the India women's football championship.^[13] There are also similar national championships for junior teams like the Junior Girls National Championship (for under 19s) and the Under-17 Girls National Championship.

Some female players have become internationally recognised. Among them are Chitra Gangadharan who was selected to play for the All Asian Star team. Jaanki Kotecha was selected as captain to the All Asian Star Team in 2008–2009, where she led her team to victory. In February 2000, Sujata Kar and Alpana Sil became the first Indian footballers to sign a contract outside India. They signed with the German team TSV Crailsheim, but had to return after a month due to problems with the clearance of their international transfer.

Until 1983, women's football took part in international tournaments like the AFC Women's Asian Cup. For example, the team won silver in 1980 at Calicut. In later years it had become poor in status just like its male counterpart. During the 2003 AFC Women's Championship, the Indian team were embarrassed by a 12–0 defeat to China.^[14]

The poor support of the national team by the AIFF became evident, when the team's trip to Germany was only made possible by Non Resident Indians in the country, and by the support of the German Football Association. Furthermore, championships are held in remote locations, and national media coverage is said to be restricted to state and local newspapers.^[11]

The women's game reached a new low in June 2009 when FIFA delisted the side from its world rankings for being out of action for more than 18 months.^[15] This comes at a time when the game was gaining in popularity amongst the younger generation as evident by the local leagues conducted around the country. The concluded Mumbai Women's Football League 2009–10 organised by the (MDFA) was a major success and featured many talented players who had played for the national team. Furthermore, the popularity of the event gave hope that the women's game could rise in India.^[16][17] The India women's national football team, organised by the All India Football Federation, was revived after being dormant for several years.^[18]

One of the barriers to the sport growing is that many women experience prejudice for playing the sport.^[19][20][21]

On 17 December 2014, general secretary of the All India Football Federation, Kushal Das, gave a presentation on the future of women's football in India during a meeting with FIFA.^[22] During his presentation, Das stated that the goal for women's football from 2014 to 2017 was to increase the ranking of the national team overall and in Asia, start a professional women's league and qualify for youth AFC championships.^[22]

National leagues

• Indian Women's League
• Indian Women's League 2

State leagues

• Arunachal Women's League
• Assam Women's League
• Bihar State Women's League
• Calcutta Women's Football League
• Chhattisgarh State Women's Football League
• Delhi Women's League
• Goa Women's League
• Gujarat State Women's League
• Himachal Women's League
• Karnataka Women's League
• Kerala Women's League
• Madhya Pradesh Women's Premier League
• Maharashtra State Senior Women's Football League
• Manipur Women's League
• Meghalaya Women's State League
• Mizoram Women's League
• Odisha Women's League
• Pondicherry Women's League
• Punjab Women's League
• Sikkim Women's Football League
• SSA Women's Football League
• Tamil Nadu Women's League
• Tripura Women's Football League