In July, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) proudly announced India’s friendly against five-time World Cup winners Brazil. But amid the excitement surrounding one of the biggest fixtures in Indian football history, the federation’s women’s football calendar remains shrouded in uncertainty.

The Indian Women’s League (IWL) was formed 10 years ago. But instead of living up to its tagline as the country’s women’s top-tier professional football competition, it has become a prime example of persistent mismanagement by the national federation. The same goes for IWL 2, which is the second-tier professional women’s football league, another example of a lack of commitment from Kalyan Chaubey’s federation.

Nine seasons of the IWL have taken place, but none have happened on the same dates every year.

Speaking to Sports Now, Tarini Kumar, who plays for Misaka United, said, “I think nine editions have happened so far and not one such has happened at the same time in the year.”

Tarini captains Misaka United in both the Karnataka Women’s League and IWL 2. She is also an investment banker by profession.

AIFF’s announcement of the Brazil friendly also raises questions about the federation’s priorities. The AIFF has decided to devote significant resources and organisational bandwidth to secure one of India’s biggest-ever football friendlies, but clubs and players in the women’s game are still waiting for clarity over their own national competitions. Sports Now can confirm that AIFF are paying an advance to the agency. Also, the total amount of money spent on the fixture is expected to be between Rs 70-90 crores.

The decision to face Brazil also saw the senior men’s team withdraw from the FIFA ASEAN Cup. There is also a risk of paying a huge fine to FIFA.

The upcoming season of IWL 2 was expected to take place from July 9 to August 22. But it has not taken place yet, and there are no tentative dates given by the federation. Meanwhile, the IWL has been tentatively scheduled from September 3 to January 24. But it looks like even that could have a similar fate as the second division.

There is a lack of clarity and communication from the federation to players and clubs.

The previous IWL season was broken into two different phases. The first phase took place from December 20 to January 9. Meanwhile, the second phase happened from April 20 to May 10.

“It’s almost like a very haphazard checkbox with no certainty on when it would be,” says Tarini.

The IWL still doesn’t have a proper system for the number of participating teams; there is also a total lack of clarity on the relegation/promotion rules. It is not just the dates of the league. It’s even the format. If the federation is ready to celebrate the women’s team’s qualification to the AFC Asian Cup, then why not actually help the sport develop instead of just being there for social media.

“Also, the format of that tournament varies year on year. Sometimes there are 8, sometimes 10 teams, sometimes 6. So currently, it’s not reached a place of equilibrium where one can gauge when the tournament will be held, what the format of the tournament will be and how many matches a team could actually play. That also varies year on year. The Karnataka Women’s League is more consistent and usually happens in the second half of the year and lasts for 1.5 months. It’s a better quality League in my view than the national leagues,” Tarini points out.

Meanwhile, in the IWL 2, there is a lack of focus on the match calendar. “Players had to play 5 matches in 10 days last season,” she says.

Although some state leagues have done a better job than the IWL, there are still loopholes in their approach too.

“I think my team, Misaka United, because they announced the date for the Karnataka Women’s League, we raised the sponsorship and planned for a month, month and a half pre-season camp. Now, the thing is that sometimes, when tournaments are announced. It could be less than three weeks or a month before the tournament’s start date. Then even if the club is at that mercy, even if they want to hold a pre-season camp, they can’t. Then they are just scrambling last-minute, firefighting, trying to get a team,” she said.

The lack of clarity also makes it hard for players to plan their year. A lot of players are still in educational institutions, and others have jobs.

“Even for the Karnataka Women’s League, the players do come from other states. So, the players that you get for the Karnataka Women’s League are also dependent on the IWL, the National League calendar.

“Because some of those players come and play in the Karnataka Women’s League. So, what happens is that nobody can commit to any team because they don’t know whether there will be overlap between the same league and the National League. So, it increases uncertainty in the entire system in terms of players not knowing what is happening and who to commit to.

“I have taken a break from my job to play the National League game, which is the IWL 2. And it’s still up in the air. So, basically, there is uncertainty as to what to do next. Because people do put their lives on hold to some extent to prioritise playing,” she added.

The shadow of uncertainty falls on the women’s senior national team as well. The next FIFA women’s international break is scheduled for October 5-13, but AIFF are yet to announce any fixtures for the team despite having already taken major decisions around the men’s side, including withdrawing from the ASEAN Cup and finalising a high-profile friendly against Brazil.

The contrast raises questions about the federation’s priorities. While significant resources and attention have been directed towards the upcoming Brazil game, India’s women’s domestic calendar and senior team plans remain unclear.