The Senior Women's National Football Championship (NFC) will be held from November 25 to December 9 this year in Kerala. The tournament's venue and the dates were approved by the AIFF Executive Committee meeting.
The Senior Women’s NFC will be held in three venues across five stadia.
The AIFF Executive Committee also complimented the Kerala State Government for their unprecedented support for the development of the sport. The AIFF Executive Committee also appreciated the support from states like Odisha and Jharkhand, both of whom have been providing exemplary support to the sport.
The Executive Committee hopes that the respective state associations, along with support from state governments, will help Indian football move forward.
Manipur, defending champions of National Football Championship (NFC)
Manipur will be defending their title at this year's NFC. In the last edition of the tournament, held in 2020, Manipur beat Indian Railways 1-0 in the final.
The first Senior Women’s NFC was held at Manipur in 1992. The championship is a national level inter-state championship, which is played every year at one venue chosen by the AIFF Executive Committee.
All affiliated state associations of the AIFF are eligible to participate in this championship, which is played on a league-cum-knockout basis.
Meanwhile, the Indian women's team have been drawn in Group A alongside eight-time champions China and three-time champions Chinese Taipei in the AFC Women's Asian Cup.
12 teams will be competing in Asia's showpiece tournament for women's national teams slated to begin on January 20 next year in India.
India will take on Iran in the opening match of the tournament on January 20 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. This is the first time since 2003 that India will be featuring in the Women's Asian Cup.