The Indian Women’s League 2025–26 (IWL 2025-26) kicks off on December 20, 2025. This will be the ninth season of the Indian Women’s League, the top division women’s professional football league in India.
East Bengal FC are the defending champions. Gokulam Kerala is the most successful team in IWL tournament history, having won three titles on the trot from 2020 to 2023.
The Indian Women’s League (IWL) will be played in a split format for the first time in its history, with the 2025–26 season divided into two phases to support player availability and national team preparation.
The first phase of the league will run from December 20, 2025, to January 9, 2026, while the second phase is scheduled from April 20 to May 10, 2026. The revised calendar has been introduced in view of a packed international schedule for Indian women’s football in 2026.
India is set to compete in three AFC Women’s Asian Cups next year at the senior, U-20 and U-17 levels. During the first phase of the IWL, teams will play 28 matches before breaking for international duty. The gap will accommodate the senior AFC Women’s Asian Cup from March 1 to 21 and the U-20 tournament from April 1 to 18. Although the U-17 Asian Cup, scheduled from April 30 to May 17, overlaps with the latter part of the league, its impact is expected to be minimal due to the age category involved.
The upcoming season will mark the ninth edition of India’s premier women’s football competition. East Bengal FC, who lifted the title last season in only their second year in the league, will enter as defending champions.
Former champions Gokulam Kerala, Sethu FC and Odisha FC will not all be present this season, with Odisha FC missing out after being relegated last year. Gokulam Kerala and Sethu FC will be joined by Kickstart FC, Nita FA and Sreebhumi FC in the competition. Garhwal United and Sesa FA have earned promotion from IWL 2, with Sesa FA benefiting after the All India Football Federation rolled back its proposal to include the Indian Arrows in the top tier.
Unlike last season’s home-and-away format, all matches in the 2025–26 IWL will be played at centralised venues in West Bengal- the National Centre of Excellence in Salt Lake, Kolkata, and the Kalyani Municipal Stadium.
The AIFF has already released the fixtures for the first phase, while the second-phase schedule will be announced at a later date. The league will follow a double round-robin format, with each team playing the others twice. The team finishing at the top of the table will be crowned champions and will earn a spot in the AFC Women’s Champions League next season.
Also Read: IWL 2025-26: Fixtures, Venues, Timings
Where to watch IWL 2025-26 live for free
Live streaming of the IWL 2025-26 football matches will be available on the Indian Football YouTube channel. There will be no live telecast of the Indian Women’s League on any TV channel in India.
