The 2022 edition of the Indian Women's League - the country's lone national club competition for women's football - can be seen either as glass half-full, half-empty... depending on perspective.
The league was conducted after a gap of two years due to the pandemic (despite the men's competitions going on), and there were some glaring areas that need improvement: The season, for instance, was only about 40 days long, excluding the qualifiers. Meanwhile, towards the later stages, matches were suddenly shifted from evening kick-offs to morning ones in the searing May heat.
But there were big positives too. The league was longer this time with 12 teams, and they played more matches than ever before. A change in format meant there was no round-robin and knockouts, but every team played each other and the table toppers won. Players got more competitive game time, precious cargo in Indian women's football.
The champions, Gokulam Kerala who defended their title from 2020, seemed all but certain even before the league began given their squad strength and experience. Their lopsided goal difference of 62 -- 66 scored, 4 conceded -- accentuated that. Yet, the title race went down to the wire, till their final match against Sethu FC.
Glass half-full?
For India's women footballers, the 2022 IWL was a step in the right direction. But it's also important to note that this is just the first one. Veteran India internationals Aditi Chauhan and Dalima Chhibber, both part of Gokulam's galacticos, spoke about these pros and cons:
"The title race going down to the wire shows the kind of competition that was there. It tells how women's football in India is growing, getting more exciting," said Chhibber, adding that there were several teams that gave GKFC a tough fight despite the huge goal margins.
"Since 2017 we have come a long way where six teams started playing IWL and today we see a league structure with more teams. Looking at the teams and players turning up in women's football there is scope for a longer league."
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✨ pic.twitter.com/HBTmcalgGj- Gokulam Kerala FC (@GokulamKeralaFC) May 28, 2022
Chauhan was candid when she said that league is "obviously not perfect" and that while they are at least getting 11 matches, which is an improvement from the last season, the players have been trying to make the point that the league needs to be longer.
The goalkeeper shared an anecdote which sums up this middle ground. "One of the things that excited me the most was seeing a 14-year-old girl [from Hans Women Football Club] score a goal. Thinking of from where I started, I didn't even know football existed when I was 14 and now there are girls who are playing against the best in the country and scoring. Mata Rukmani [from Chhattisgarh, who also had a mostly teenage team] with their background also showed what you can do if you are determined."
Hans and Mata Rukmani, though, finished at the bottom of the table with just one win, 50 and 60 goals scored against them. But as Chauhan said, a longer league means that these young girls are getting the platform "to showcase their talent and to actually opt for football as a profession."
Indian Arrows - a rare ray of hope
One of the biggest positives was the introduction of the first-ever Indian Arrows women's project, a vital initiative for the future of the game. It was a developmental squad, a feeder system and a practice run for the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup next year.
When ESPN spoke to the teen players from Arrows during the league, the buzzword was playing 11 matches against the best players. The teenagers did a lot more, by finishing fifth and testing the likes of Gokulam, even scoring one of the only 4 goals that went past Chauhan. The veterans praised the youngsters' big-match mentality, who didn't get overawed by the occasion.
Chauhan said it best when describing the importance of the junior team to the senior set up: "[The] Indian Arrows project is one of the main steps towards maintaining consistency with the national team. Right now the issue has always been about providing that channel of good players who are coming in through the system to the senior team. There is always a competition going on and this provide a fresh pool of talent who are equally capable and working to improve themselves. It will also mean that no one becomes complacent or take their spot for granted."
Chhibber added: "There is a lot of young talent coming in and to be groomed at that age and to get guidance is crucial. I feel like this is the beginning."
What comes next?
The next step should be to expand the league, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Right now, Gokulam are the only club that has representation in one of the men's top-two tiers (I-League and the ISL) and the IWL. "Hopefully with time and how the game is developing, I hope that by next year we have more teams. Hopefully ISL and I-League teams will also be participating so that will help increase the competition, make the league more interesting," Chauhan said.
Gokulam, the reigning (two-time) champions in both I League and IWL have shown it's possible. "It comes down to consistency and the equal attention [Gokulam] give both the men's and women's teams. It's a small thing but even if we look at the club's social media page there is equal coverage," Chhibber said.
The way forward will have to be a joint effort by the stakeholders, both the Indian football federation and the major clubs across the country. There is no doubt that future of Indian women's football is bright. But the present needs more light.