2021–22 Indian Women's League Explained

Competition:Hero Indian Women's League
Season:2021–22
Dates:15 April – 26 May 2022
Winners:Gokulam Kerala
2nd IWL title
2nd Indian title
Continentalcup1:AFC Women's Club Championship
Continentalcup1 Qualifiers:Gokulam Kerala
Matches:66
Total Goals:300
League Topscorer: Elshaddai Acheampong (20 goals)
Best Goalkeeper: Maibam Linthoingambi Devi
Highest Scoring:Odisha Police 0–12 Gokulam Kerala
Longest Wins:Gokulam Kerala (11 matches)
Longest Unbeaten:Gokulam Kerala (11 matches)
Longest Winless:Hans Women (10 matches)
Longest Losses:Hans Women (10 matches)
Prevseason:2019–20
2020–21
Nextseason:2022–23

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.

Qualifiers

Teams

!Club!City!State/Region
ARAAhmedabadGujarat
GolazoHamirpurHimachal Pradesh
Guwahati CityGuwahatiAssam
Young WelfareImphalManipur

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]

Matches

Teams

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.

ClubCityState/Region
ARAAhmedabadGujarat
Gokulam KeralaKozhikodeKerala
Hans WomenNew DelhiDelhi
Indian ArrowsBhubaneswarOdisha
KickstartBengaluruKarnataka
Mata Rukmani GirlsBastarChhattisgarh
BhubaneswarOdisha
PIFA Sports (Colaba)MumbaiMaharashtra
SethuMaduraiTamil Nadu
SirvodemNavelimGoa
Sports OdishaBhubaneswarOdisha
SSBSiliguriWest Bengal

Personnel and sponsorships

scope=colTeamscope=colHead coachscope=colCaptainscope=colKit manufacturerscope=colShirt sponsor
ARA Prit Bhatt Anju
Gokulam Kerala Anthony Andrews Aditi Chauhan SEGAFederal Bank
Hans Women Arun Mishra Jyoti Ann BurrettKica Active
Indian Arrows Suren Kumar Chettri Martina Thokchom SIX5SIX
Kickstart Amrutha Aravind Valliyath Kshetrimayum Margaret DeviHaier
Mata Rukmani Girls Sandeep Singh Laxmi MandaviGoel TMT
Odisha Police Sradhanjali Samantaray Sumitra Xalxo VEGAOdisha Tourism
PIFA Sports (Colaba) Nirvan Shah Karen PaisHäfele Group
Sethu Crispin Chettri Sandhiya Ranganathan SIX5SIXCOSCO
Sirvodem Chitra Gangadharan Ancella BarrettoFabiana's – Sports & Hospitality
Sports Odisha Gitanjali Khuntia Manisa Panna VEGAOdisha Tourism
SSB Juliet Miranda Dular MarandiBS

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.

ClubPlayer 1Player 2
ARA
Gokulam Kerala Win Theingi Tun Elshaddai Acheampong
Hans Women
Kickstart
Mata Rukmani Girls
Odisha Police
PIFA Sports (Colaba)
Sethu Elizabeth Kioko Katungwa
Sirvodem Ernestina Tetteh
Sports Odisha
SSB

Regular season

Fixture and results

All matches were played at neutral venues. The "home" and "away" are designated to identify Team 1 and Team 2 respectively.

Results by match

The table lists the results of teams after each match.

Positions by round

Matches

Round 11

Season statistics

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Elshaddai AcheampongGokulam Kerala20
2 Manisha KalyanGokulam Kerala14
3 Pyari XaxaSports Odisha12
4 Apurna NarzaryIndian Arrows9
Naorem Priyangka DeviIndian Arrows
Dular MarandiSSB
7 Renu RaniSethu FC8
Source: The AIFF

Most clean sheets

Note: Only the top 5 goalkeepers with most clean sheets have been listed below.

RankPlayerClubClean sheets
1 Maibam Linthoingambi DeviKickstart8
2 Aditi ChauhanGokulam Kerala7
3 Devi DSethu7
4 Adrija SarkhelIndian Arrows6
5 Sasmita ParidaSports Odisha4

Awards

Match awards

Note: Player of the match awarded only for the matches played in the regular season, and not in the qualifier.

Season awards

AwardWinner
Hero of the League Manisha Kalyan (Gokulam Kerala)
Top Goalscorer Elshaddai Acheampong (Gokulam Kerala)
Best Goalkeeper Maibam Linthoingambi Devi (Kickstart)
Best Defender Loitongbam Ashalata Devi (Gokulam Kerala)
Emerging Player of the League Naorem Priyangka Devi (Indian Arrows)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Calendar: HERO IWL 2021-22. All India Football Federation. 22 March 2022.
  2. Web site: Football: Indian Women's League 2022 to be held from April with new format, junior side. ESPN. 9 March 2022. 22 March 2022.