2021–22 Indian Women's League
The 2021–22 Indian Women's League (also known as Hero Indian Women's League for sponsorship reasons) was the fifth season of the Indian Women's League, the top division women's professional football league in India. The qualifying round was held from 1–5 April 2022 at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi.[1] The final round was scheduled to kick-off from mid-April in Bhubaneswar, Odisha and continue till the last week of May.[2] On 26 May, Gokulam Kerala successfully defended their title with a convincing win against Sethu in a title decider on the last matchday, and became the first club to do it.
Season | 2021–22 |
---|---|
Dates | 15 April – 26 May 2022 |
Champions | Gokulam Kerala 2nd IWL title 2nd Indian title |
AFC Women's Club Championship | Gokulam Kerala |
Matches played | 66 |
Goals scored | 300 (4.55 per match) |
Best Player | ![]() |
Top goalscorer | ![]() |
Best goalkeeper | ![]() |
Highest scoring | Odisha Police 0–12 Gokulam Kerala |
Longest winning run | Gokulam Kerala (11 matches) |
Longest unbeaten run | Gokulam Kerala (11 matches) |
Longest winless run | Hans Women (10 matches) |
Longest losing run | Hans Women (10 matches) |
2022–23 → |
Qualifier
Teams
Club | City | State/Region |
---|---|---|
ARA | Ahmedabad | Gujarat |
Golazo | Hamirpur | Himachal Pradesh |
Guwahati City | Guwahati | Assam |
Young Welfare | Imphal | Manipur |
Table
The following four teams from four states played each other once during April in the qualifying round at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi.[1]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ARA | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 3 | +24 | 9 | Main round |
2 | Young Welfare | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 6 | |
3 | Guwahati City | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 14 | −14 | 1 | |
4 | Golazo | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 15 | −15 | 1 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
Matches
1 April 2022 | Guwahati City | 0–12 | ARA | New Delhi, Delhi |
08:00 IST | Report |
|
Stadium: Ambedkar Stadium |
1 April 2022 | Golazo | 0–4 | Young Welfare | New Delhi, Delhi |
11:00 IST | Report |
|
Stadium: Ambedkar Stadium |
3 April 2022 | ARA | 11–0 | Golazo | New Delhi, Delhi |
08:00 IST |
|
Report | Stadium: Ambedkar Stadium |
3 April 2022 | Young Welfare | 2–0 | Guwahati City | New Delhi, Delhi |
11:00 IST |
|
Report | Stadium: Ambedkar Stadium |
5 April 2022 | Guwahati City | 0–0 | Golazo | New Delhi, Delhi |
08:00 IST | Report | Stadium: Ambedkar Stadium |
5 April 2022 | ARA | 4–3 | Young Welfare | New Delhi, Delhi |
11:00 IST |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Ambedkar Stadium |
Teams




Girls



Stadiums and locations
The matches were played at three venues located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha; Kalinga Stadium, O.S.A.P 7th Battalion Ground and Capital High School Ground.
Club | City | State/Region |
---|---|---|
ARA | Ahmedabad | Gujarat |
Gokulam Kerala | Kozhikode | Kerala |
Hans Women | New Delhi | Delhi |
Indian Arrows | Bhubaneswar | Odisha |
Kickstart | Bengaluru | Karnataka |
Mata Rukmani Girls | Bastar | Chhattisgarh |
Odisha Police | Bhubaneswar | Odisha |
PIFA Sports (Colaba) | Mumbai | Maharashtra |
Sethu | Madurai | Tamil Nadu |
Sirvodem | Navelim | Goa |
Sports Odisha | Bhubaneswar | Odisha |
SSB | Siliguri | West Bengal |
Personnel and sponsorships
Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
---|---|---|---|---|
ARA | ![]() |
![]() |
||
Gokulam Kerala | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Federal Bank |
Hans Women | ![]() |
![]() |
Kica Active | |
Indian Arrows | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
Kickstart | ![]() |
![]() |
Haier | |
Mata Rukmani Girls | ![]() |
![]() |
Goel TMT | |
Odisha Police | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Odisha Tourism |
PIFA Sports (Colaba) | ![]() |
![]() |
Häfele Group | |
Sethu | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
COSCO |
Sirvodem | ![]() |
![]() |
Fabiana's – Sports & Hospitality | |
Sports Odisha | ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Odisha Tourism |
SSB | ![]() |
![]() |
BS |
Foreign players
AIFF allowed maximum of two foreign players per team but only one can be part of starting 11. Indian Arrows cannot sign any foreign player as they are part of AIFF's developmental program.
Club | Player 1 | Player 2 |
---|---|---|
ARA | — | — |
Gokulam Kerala | ![]() |
![]() |
Hans Women | — | — |
Kickstart | — | — |
Mata Rukmani Girls | — | — |
Odisha Police | — | — |
PIFA Sports (Colaba) | — | — |
Sethu | ![]() |
— |
Sirvodem | ![]() |
— |
Sports Odisha | — | — |
SSB | — | — |
Regular season
Standings
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gokulam Kerala | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 4 | +62 | 33 | Champion and qualification for the 2022–23 Indian Women's League season and 2022 AFC Women's Club Championship |
2 | Sethu | 11 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 42 | 6 | +36 | 30 | Qualification for the 2022–23 Indian Women's League season |
3 | Kickstart | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 8 | +25 | 27 | |
4 | Sports Odisha | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 34 | 16 | +18 | 20 | |
5 | Indian Arrows | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 25 | 9 | +16 | 19 | |
6 | SSB | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 29 | 22 | +7 | 16 | |
7 | PIFA Sports (Colaba) | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 25 | −8 | 14 | |
8 | ARA | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 26 | −8 | 13 | |
9 | Sirvodem | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 36 | −23 | 10 | |
10 | Odisha Police | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 38 | −29 | 6 | |
11 | Mata Rukmani Girls | 11 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 60 | −53 | 3[lower-alpha 1] | |
12 | Hans Women | 11 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 50 | −43 | 3[lower-alpha 1] |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
Notes:
- Head-to-Head points: Mata Rukmani Girls 3, Hans Women 0
Fixture and results
All matches were played at neutral venues. The "home" and "away" are designated to identify Team 1 and Team 2 respectively.
Positions by round
The table lists the positions of teams after each round mentioned in official fixtures.
Championship position |
Results by match
The table lists the results of teams after each match.
Season statistics
Top scorers
Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Gokulam Kerala | 20 |
2 | ![]() |
Gokulam Kerala | 14 |
3 | ![]() |
Sports Odisha | 12 |
4 | ![]() |
Indian Arrows | 9 |
![]() |
Indian Arrows | ||
![]() |
SSB | ||
7 | ![]() |
Sethu FC | 8 |
Source: The AIFF |
Most clean sheets
Note: Only the top 5 goalkeepers with most clean sheets have been listed below.
Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Kickstart | 8 |
2 | ![]() |
Gokulam Kerala | 7 |
3 | ![]() |
Sethu | 7 |
4 | ![]() |
Indian Arrows | 6 |
5 | ![]() |
Sports Odisha | 4 |
Awards
Match awards
Note: Player of the match awarded only for the matches played in the regular season, and not in the qualifier.
Match | Player of the Match | Match | Player of the Match | Match | Player of the Match | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | |||
Match 1 | ![]() |
Kickstart | Match 23 | ![]() |
SSB | Match 45 | ![]() |
Indian Arrows |
Match 2 | ![]() |
SSB | Match 24 | ![]() |
Gokulam Kerala | Match 46 | ![]() |
Gokulam Kerala |
Match 3 | ![]() |
Indian Arrows | Match 25 | ![]() |
Gokulam Kerala | Match 47 | ![]() |
Sports Odisha |
Match 4 | ![]() |
Gokulam Kerala | Match 26 | ![]() |
Indian Arrows | Match 48 | ![]() |
Sirvodem |
Match 5 | ![]() |
Sethu | Match 27 | ![]() |
Sports Odisha | Match 49 | ![]() |
Gokulam Kerala |
Match 6 | ![]() |
Sports Odisha | Match 28 | ![]() |
Odisha Police | Match 50 | ![]() |
Indian Arrows |
Match 7 | ![]() |
PIFA Sports | Match 29 | ![]() |
ARA | Match 51 | ![]() |
Sethu |
Match 8 | ![]() |
Sports Odisha | Match 30 | ![]() |
Sethu | Match 52 | ![]() |
Kickstart |
Match 9 | ![]() |
SSB | Match 31 | ![]() |
Sethu | Match 53 | ![]() |
Sports Odisha |
Match 10 | ![]() |
Kickstart | Match 32 | ![]() |
PIFA Sports | Match 54 | ![]() |
PIFA Sports |
Match 11 | ![]() |
Odisha Police | Match 33 | ![]() |
Gokulam Kerala | Match 55 | ![]() |
SSB |
Match 12 | ![]() |
Sethu | Match 34 | ![]() |
Odisha Police | Match 56 | ![]() |
Kickstart |
Match 13 | ![]() |
Gokulam Kerala | Match 35 | ![]() |
Indian Arrows | Match 57 | ![]() |
PIFA Sports |
Match 14 | ![]() |
Sirvodem | Match 36 | ![]() |
Kickstart | Match 58 | ![]() |
Gokulam Kerala |
Match 15 | ![]() |
Kickstart | Match 37 | ![]() |
ARA | Match 59 | ![]() |
Sethu |
Match 16 | ![]() |
SSB | Match 38 | ![]() |
Sethu | Match 60 | ![]() |
Sirvodem |
Match 17 | ![]() |
ARA | Match 39 | ![]() |
Sports Odisha | Match 61 | ![]() |
Hans Women |
Match 18 | ![]() |
Sethu | Match 40 | ![]() |
Kickstart | Match 62 | ![]() |
SSB |
Match 19 | ![]() |
Indian Arrows | Match 41 | ![]() |
Gokulam Kerala | Match 63 | ![]() |
ARA |
Match 20 | ![]() |
Sports Odisha | Match 42 | ![]() |
Sirvodem | Match 64 | ![]() |
Sports Odisha |
Match 21 | ![]() |
Mata Rukmani Girls | Match 43 | ![]() |
Sethu | Match 65 | ![]() |
Kickstart |
Match 22 | ![]() |
Sethu | Match 44 | ![]() |
ARA | Match 66 | ![]() |
Gokulam Kerala |
Source: The AIFF |
Season awards
Award | Winner |
---|---|
Hero of the League | ![]() |
Top Goalscorer | ![]() |
Best Goalkeeper | ![]() |
Best Defender | ![]() |
Emerging Player of the League | ![]() |
References
- "Calendar: HERO IWL 2021-22". All India Football Federation. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- "Football: Indian Women's League 2022 to be held from April with new format, junior side". ESPN. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.