The All India Football Federation today confirmed Odisha as the venue for the forthcoming Hero Indian Women League (IWL) 2020-21 edition. The dates for the tournament will be announced soon. “AIFF appreciates Odisha Governments longstanding partnership with Indian Football wherein the latter have been providing its stadia and State of the Art training facilities to National Teams across various age groups and genders – all in an effort to take Indian Football forward together,” the AIFF statement said.

AIFF president Praful Patel, in his statement said: “The Government of Odisha has been a great supporter of Indian Football. We are very thankful to Shri Naveen Patnaik ji and the entire Sports Department of Odisha for extending all the support and help to organise the IWL. Over the years, the tournament has provided the platform for a lot of budding women footballers to show-case their talent and provide them the option of taking up football as a career."

The AIFF stays committed to the development of women football in the country. India are scheduled to host the AFC Women Asian Cup in 2022 which will be followed by the FIFA U-17 Women World Cup 2022. The 2020-21 IWL, will hence, provide an opportunity to scout new talents for the Women National Team.

Odisha Sports Minister Tushar Kanti Behera in his message, said: “Odisha has been synonymous with women football in India for long. Hosting of the IWL in Odisha allows us the opportunity to contribute to the development of women football in the country along with the All India Football Federation.”

Vishal Kumar Dev, Principal Secretary, Sports & Youth Services Department, Government of Odisha in his statement said: “Hosting the 2020-21 edition of the IWL will be another feather in the cap of Odisha Sports. I am sure the IWL will lead to tremendous excitement amongst the football aficionados of the state. We look forward to hosting a successful edition of the tournament.”

AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das thanked the Odisha Government and stated that AIFF along with Football Association of Odisha is committed to deliver the best Hero IWL, which is set to have a significantly higher number of matches, and will make a huge difference to development of women football in India.