This is a huge step forward for the women’s game in the country. Until now, Indian clubs had to go through qualifiers to reach the main tournament. But this change means the best team in India will now start directly among Asia’s top clubs.

A big reason behind this upgrade is East Bengal Women’s impressive performance in the ongoing AWCL. Their strong win over Iranian side Bam Khatoon FC, along with competitive games against top Asian teams, helped improve India’s overall club coefficient ranking. With more points added to India’s tally, the country no longer needs to send its champion through a qualification round.

This development is expected to open more doors for Indian clubs and players. Playing directly in the group stage means
• Better exposure
• More top-level matches
• Increased visibility for Indian talent
• Stronger motivation for clubs to invest in women’s football

With this new pathway, the future of Indian women’s club football looks brighter than ever. The next IWL champion will not only lift a national trophy but also step straight onto Asia’s biggest stage.

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The post IWL Champions to Qualify Directly for AFC Women’s Champions League Group Stage appeared first on Football Counter.

4th September 2017, Mumbai: In the ongoing WIFA Women’s League – Indian Women’s League (IWL) Preliminary Round, Football School of India (FSI) met PIFA Sports in an anticipating clash at Cooperage Stadium on the ninth match day of the campaign.

In what proved out to be a close contested clash, a lone goal by Akanksha Kandalkar gave FSI a much needed 1-0 win over PIFA Sports to record their second victory of the preliminary round.

The match started off slowly as the heated conditions took its toll over the players at Cooperage. Both the sides took their time to adapt the conditions as no shots were registered on the target in the first fifteen minutes of the match.

The first genuine opportunity of the game actually turned out to be the opening goal of the tie. Football School of India (FSI) were awarded a free-kick at the right flank, Akanksha stepped up to take her chance.

Also Read: Bhagyashree Dalvi bags four goals to help Bodyline SC secure a 5-2 win

The number 13 superbly unleashed a powerful shot which sailed past over PIFA’s Custodian Mohima Khatun into the back of the net. FSI went into the break with a solitary lead with the tie still open for both the outfits.

In the second-half, PIFA had number of opportunities to level the score but the killer instinct in front of the goal was clearly missing. Winger Deepika Masurkar almost scored a solo goal when she made a daring run from the right flank into the box, but only manage to slot her effort wide.

FSI’s resolute defense is also one of the reasons why they successfully manage to shut PIFA’s doors. With this victory, FSI are now with six points from four games

The post Akanksha Kandalkar’s free-kick helps FSI to a win over PIFA Sports appeared first on Football Counter.

Football Leaders Academy, who headed towards the match after a stalemate against Football School of India (FSI), whereas, Rush Soccer had suffered a 1-0 loss at the hands of Bodyline SC on 29th August.

The first quarter of the match was dominated by Rush Soccer. The attacking trio of Deepika Singh, Nishu Singh, and Ritu Singh caused problems for Football Leaders Academy. Nishu came close to open the scoring mid way into the first-half when she blazed her free-kick over the bar.

FLA’s heart of the defense Laura Estebeiro stood like a wall in front of Rush Soccer’s attack. The first-half ended goalless as both the sides went into the break with their heads held high.

In the second-half, FLA turned the course of the match. Tara Khatoon opened the scoring after she brilliantly slots her effort past Rush Soccer’s Custodian.

Moments later, Ritu Singh scored a stunning left footed goal to level the score at Cooperage Stadium. Suddenly, the game became open.

FLA didn’t sit back after conceding and it took another moment of brilliance from Tara to restore the parity for Football Leaders Academy. Nikita Rathod set up Tara with a pinpoint long ball who calmly finished her chance into the back of the net to give FLA all three points.

The post IWL: Football Leaders Academy upsets Rush Soccer 2-1 appeared first on Football Counter.

The post IWL: Manisha and Mamta’s brilliance gives Kenkre FC their first win appeared first on Football Counter.

The IWL went underway on 14th August 2017 at Cooperage Stadium and it’s set to be played until 1st October 2017. Here is the breakdown of the standings after the completion of six matches:

Rush Soccer is leading the IWL Preliminary Round standing with six points after winning both of their matches against PIFA Sports and Football School of India (FSI), respectively. They met PIFA Sports in their opening match on 16th August at Cooperage.

Rush got off to a great start as they overcame a strong PIFA side 5-0, courtesy of twin strike by Jyoti Kumar and Deepika Singh with Nishu Singh also getting on the scoresheet. In their second game against Football School of India (FSI), they continued from where they had left. Ritu Singh, Deepika Singh, and Nishu Singh scored one each to complete a fine win and end up as the table topper after the completion of Matchday 4.

Football Leaders Academy is second in the table after notching up one win and losing the other one in two games. They have scored a total of 10 goals so far, of which nine have been scored in their first match against Kenkre FC where they had won 9-1.

Shimona Saldhana and substitute Reshmi Kumari scored a brilliant hat-trick to help Football Leaders Academy snatch all three points from Kenkre FC. Although, FLA had to suffer a defeat the hands of Bodyline SC in their second game.

Bodyline SC’s star forward Bhagyashree Dalvi and Signorina Thapa combined well to register a 4-1 thumping victory at Cooperage. After losing their first match against Football School of India (FSI), a fantastic response from Bodyline SC has surely made the competition more exciting.

After Rush, Football Leaders Academy, Bodyline, it is Football School of India (FSI) in the fourth position. In the opening game of the campaign against Bodyline SC, a lone goal by Jyoti Mehra did the trick for FSI. In their second game though, FSI lost 3-1 to Rush.

PIFA Sports is 5th, whereas, Kenkre FC is at the bottom of the table with no points in their two matches. After losing out to Rush Soccer in their opening game, PIFA Sports made a remarkable comeback in their second match against Kenkre FC where a goal each by Shibani Sharma, Rani Bhawmick and Namrata Thakur proved enough to defeat their counterpart. For Kenkre, Mamta has been performing brilliantly so far. She could turn out to be the game changer in their upcoming matches.

Here are the standings as of 23rd August 2017:

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Rush Soccer 3-1 Football School of India (FSI)

The first match of the day was played between Rush Soccer and Football School of India (FSI) in a match which was crucial for both the sides in hope to qualify for the final rounds.

Right from the kick-off, Rush Soccer played aggressively which turned out to be the key behind their comprehensive victory. Ritu Singh opened the scoring with a sublime finish midway into the first-half before Deepika Singh scored a screamer moments before the half-time to double Rush Soccer’s lead.

Of all the goals scored today, Deepika’s thunderous strike stood at the top. The power and technique were second to none.

FSI’s best player was undoubtedly defender Shruti who had a brilliant game. Her brilliant header in the second-half cut short the deficit but a cheeky lobbed goal by Nishu Singh wrapped up the game for Rush Soccer. Their second win of the IWL campaign.

Kenkre FC 2-3 PIFA Sports 

The second match of the day turned out to be a thrilling contest between Kenkre FC and PIFA Sports at Cooperage. An important fixture for both the outfits as they were looking for their first points of the IWL campaign.

After a goalless first-half, PIFA stepped up their game in the second-half to take a comfortable 3-0 lead as they broke Kenkre FC’s resilient defense in a matter of minutes.

Sibani Sharma curled her corner straight into the back of the net to open the scoring with a spectacular goal. Kenkre’s defense was left hapless as the ball sailed past everyone into the empty net.

Midway into the second-half, Rani Bhowmick made it 2-0 with a brilliant finish before Namrata Thakur scored a long-range goal to take a swift 3-0 lead.

Just when everyone thought PIFA is going away with all three points, Kenkre FC’s Mamta scored two quick goals, including a stunning goal from outside the box in the dying minutes to cut short the deficit by one goal.

PIFA’s defense stood firm and strong to hold onto their lead to snatch all three points from Kenkre FC.

The post IWL – Rush Soccer and PIFA Sports wins on Matchday 4 appeared first on Football Counter.

Football Leaders Academy (FLA) headed towards the match on the back of a fine 9-1 win over Kenkre FC in their opening game, whereas, Bodyline SC had to suffer a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Football School of India (FSI).

The post Bhagyashree Dalvi’s hat-trick gives Bodyline SC an important win appeared first on Football Counter.

Deepika Singh and Jyoti Kumar turned out to be heroes for Rush Soccer as both the forwards strike twice to register an emphatic victory in their opening game.

Rush Soccer’s winger Nisha Singh scored inside two minutes to give her side a dream start. She easily managed to slot past PIFA’s goalkeeper to make it 1-0.

Rush’s strong defence proved too strong for PIFA as they hardly allowed to attack their counterparts. A few minutes later, Deepika Singh made it 2-0 when her close range shot got deflected and went in.

Apart from a strong defence, Rush’s midfield also turned out to be dominating. At the stroke of half-time, Jyoti Kumar was setup by Deepika Singh as the former made no mistake to make it 3-0.

Hoping to turn around the match in the second-half, PIFA displayed a decent performance but couldn’t manage to stop Rush’s superior attack.

Midway into the second-half, Deepika scored her second when she was left unmarked in the final third which allowed her to easily beat the goalkeeper.

In the dying minutes of the match, Jyoti scored he fifth and final goal to wrap up a 5-0 win for Rush. She was also adjudged as the player of the match.

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