MARGAO
The AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, secretary general Dr Shaji Prabhakaran, and senior officials of the federation met with representatives from the I-League and Indian Women’s League clubs on Thursday.
Discussions were held on a range of topics regarding the formats of the two leagues, the subsidies disbursed to the clubs, the qualities of the pitches and broadcast, the regulation on foreign players, and much more.
The AIFF discussed the possibility of having the I-League in different formats. A lengthy discussion was held on the pros and cons of the formats, which the AIFF management took note of. A decision on the same will be taken at a later date, taking into consideration, the opinions of all stakeholders. The I-League clubs were also advised to improve their pitch conditions and have compulsory floodlights for their matches.
A range of awards were also announced for the I-League “ Best Pitch, Best Match Organisation, and Best Media Activities. The winning prize for each category is Rs 2.5 lakh, while that of the runners-up is Rs 1.5 lakh. The I-League is tentatively likely to start in the first week of October.
It was revealed that Gokulam Kerala FC will be allowed to participate in the AFC Women’s Club Championship (Pilot) 2023 after the AIFF requested the AFC to allow them to participate in the 2023 edition as the winners of the 2022-23 Indian Women's League.
The 2023-24 women's football league season will consist of two tiers “ the IWL with eight teams playing on a home-and-away basis and a second division, which will comprise the remaining eight teams from the 2022-23 IWL season and the state league winners. The top two teams of the second division will be promoted to the 2024-25 IWL.
The tentative dates suggested by the AIFF for the IWL 2023-24 season are from November 18, 2023, to March 16, 2024.
