The much anticipated first season of the second division of the Indian Women’s League or IWL 2 is set to begin on 22nd March 2024. The group stage of the inauguration edition will have 15 teams divided into three groups of five. Each team will play their opponents in their respective group once in a round-robin format with only the winners proceeding to the Final Round. The top two teams of the round will gain promotion to the Indian Women’s League or IWL 2024/25 season. The IWL 2 will consist of teams that did not make it to the knockouts of IWL last season, state league winners and nominated clubs. The matches of each group will be played in three different centralized venues.
Initially, 24 teams were taken into account to participate in IWL 2 but nine sides - Churchill Brothers (Goa), Kahaani FC (Gujarat), Lords FA (Kerala), CRPF (Punjab), Mata Rukmani FC (Chhatisgarh), Parikrma FC (Karnataka), Misaka United (Karnataka) and Kerala United FC (Kerala) withdrew from the league. Six of them played in the IWL last season but did not make the top four in their group to remain in the now top-flight. The reason was a lack of funds and inability to get players and AIFF asking for registration fees beyond their financial capacity.
Here are the group and fixtures of 2023-24 IWL 2 in full:
Group A
Sai Football Club (Assam)
Mumbai Knights FC (Maharashtra)
AIPL FC (Bihar)
Pudhuval Unicorns (Pondicherry)
Garhwal United (Delhi)
Group A consists of Assam Women's League semifinalists Sai Football Club, last year’s IWL participant Mumbai Knights FC, Pondicherry league winners Pudhuval Unicorns, Delhi league winners Garhwal United and AIPL FC of Bihar. The matches of Group A will be played in Kokrajar, Assam.
Fixtures
Saturday, 23 March 2024
AIPL FC vs Mumbai Knights FC - 9:00 (IST)
Garhwal United vs Pudhuval Unicorns - 15:00 (IST)
Monday, 25 March 2024
Pudhuval Unicorns vs Sai Football Club - 9:00 (IST)
Garhwal United vs AIPL FC - 15:00 (IST)
Wednesday, 27 March 2024
Sai Football Club vs Garhwal United - 9:00 (IST)
Mumbai Knights FC vs Pudhuval Unicorns - 15:00 (IST)
Friday, 29 March 2024
Mumbai Knights FC vs Garhwal United - 9:00 (IST)
AIPL FC vs Sai Football Club - 15:00 (IST)
Sunday, 31 March 2024
Pudhuval Unicorns vs AIPL FC - 9:00 (IST)
Sai Football Club vs Mumbai Knights FC - 15:00 (IST)
Group B
Sreebhumi FC (West Bengal)
Nita Football Academy (Odisha)
Casa Barwani Soccer Club (Madhya Pradesh)
Pune KRIDA (Maharashtra)
MGM Ambush Girls (Chhatisgarh)
Former IWL side and Calcutta league winners Sreebhumi FC will be in Group B joined by Odisha and Chhattisgarh league winners, Nita Football Academy and MGM Ambush Girls respectively. Maharashtra league runners-up Pune KRIDA and the nominated side from Madhya Pradesh, Casa Barwani are the other members of the group.
Fixtures
Sunday, 24 March 2024
Casa Barwani vs Nita Football Academy - 9:00 (IST)
MGM Ambush Girls vs Pune KRIDA - 15:00 (IST)
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Pune KRIDA vs Sreebhumi FC - 9:00 (IST)
MGM Ambush Girls vs Casa Barwani - 15:00 (IST)
Thursday, 28 March 2024
Sreebhumi FC vs MGM Ambush Girls - 9:00 (IST)
Nita Football Academy vs Pune KRIDA - 15:00 (IST)
Saturday, 30 March 2024
Nita Football Academy vs MGM Ambush Girls - 9:00 (IST)
Casa Barwani vs Sreebhumi FC - 15:00 (IST)
Monday, 1 April 2024
Pune KRIDA vs Casa Barwani - 9:00 (IST)
Sreebhumi FC vs Nita Football Academy - 15:00 (IST)
Group C
FC Tuem (Goa)
SAG Football Academy (Gujarat)
Khad FC (Himachal Pradesh)
City Bahadurgarh FC (Haryana)
Celtic Queens FC (Pondicherry)
Celtic Queens FC are the only team with IWL experience in Group C and they are paired with Goa Women's League champions FC Tuem, Haryana league winners City Bahadurgarh and two nominated clubs, Khad FC of Himachal Pradesh and SAG Football Academy of Gujarat. An exception has been granted to SAG despite no women’s league hosted by their state.
Fixtures
Friday, 22 March 2024
Khad FC vs SAG Football Academy - 9:00 (IST)
Celtic Queens FC vs City Bahadurgarh FC - 15:00 (IST)
Sunday, 24 March 2024
City Bahadurgarh FC vs FC Tuem - 9:00 (IST)
Celtic Queens FC vs Khad FC - 15:00 (IST)
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
FC Tuem vs Celtic Queens FC - 9:00 (IST)
SAG Football Academy vs City Bahadurgarh FC - 15:00 (IST)
Thursday, 28 March 2024
SAG Football Academy vs Celtic Queens FC - 9:00 (IST)
Khad FC vs FC Tuem - 15:00 (IST)
Saturday, 30 March 2024
City Bahadurgarh FC vs Khad FC - 9:00 (IST)
FC Tuem vs SAG Football Academy - 15:00 (IST)
