New Delhi, February 28: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) confirmed Odisha as the venue for the forthcoming Hero Indian Women’s League 2020-21 edition. The dates for the tournament will be announced soon, said an official release.
The AIFF appreciated Odisha Government’s longstanding partnership with Indian Football wherein the latter have been providing its stadia and State of the Art training facilities to National Teams across various age groups and genders – all in an effort to take Indian Football forward together.
AIFF president Praful Patel, “The Government of Odisha has been a great supporter of Indian Football. Over the years, the tournament has provided the platform for a lot of budding women footballers to show-case their talent and provide them the option of taking up football as a career.”
“The AIFF stays committed to the development of women’s football in the country. India are scheduled to host the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2022 which will be followed by the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022. The 2020-21 Hero IWL, will hence, provide an opportunity to scouts to look at, and unearth new talent for the Women’s National Team,” said Patel.
Odisha Sports & Youth Services Minister Tushar Kanti Behera, in his message, said: “Holistic development of sports in India, and Indian football in particular is Odisha Sports’ vision. Odisha has been synonymous with women’s football in India for long.”
Sports & Youth Services Department Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev said, “Hosting the 2020-21 edition of the Indian Women’s League will be another feather in the cap of Odisha Sports.”
AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das thanked the Odisha Government and stated that AIFF along with Football Association of Odisha is committed to deliver the best Hero IWL, which is set to have a significantly higher number of matches, and will make a huge difference to development of women’s football in India.
Since the pandemic, Indian Football has been leading it from the front to bring back sporting action in India. It all started with the Hero I-League Qualifiers which were followed by the ongoing Hero Indian Super League and the Hero I-League.
Indian women’s football has also had its fair exposure at the International stage in recent times with the Senior Women’s team assembling for a two-month training camp on December 1, 2020, in Goa which was followed by three matches in Turkey, against Serbia, Russia, and Ukraine.
