Indian Arrows will play in IWL

The Indian team is drawn in Group B where they face Pudhuvai Unicorns in their first match at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence Phase 2 in Bengaluru, on April 2

Hyderabad: The Indian Arrows women juniors will participate in the 2024-25 Indian Women’s League 2 under Swedish head coach Joakim Alexandersson.

The Indian team is drawn in Group B, where they face the Pudhuvai Unicorns in their first match at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence Phase 2 in Bengaluru on April 2.

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This is not the first instance of an Indian Arrows team being fielded in a national women’s league. In the 2021-22 IWL season, Indian Arrows Women finished in fifth place. “The idea is to give these players good training opportunities and game experience,” said Alexandersson, who has been training the girls at The Sports School in Bengaluru.

“We had good intensive preparations and I got to know the players well. We also played a good practice game against one of the boys’ youth teams.” With an average age of just around 15 years, the Indian Arrows Women Juniors will gain significant exposure from playing in a senior tournament with teams across the country.

It serves as fruitful preparation for the SAFF U17 Women’s Championship (September 2025) and the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers (October 2025). “Of course, we want to finish in the top two and go to the final round,” said Alexandersson.

“We know it’s going to be tough, but we want to get some more matches. It will mean a lot to play against senior opposition. The girls will understand what it takes to play against older and tougher opponents. We will get to know their character and qualities,” he said.

“The inclusion of Indian Arrows in the IWL 2 is a significant step towards nurturing young talent and providing them with valuable competitive exposure. This opportunity will allow the players to gain crucial match experience, refine their skills, and adapt to high-intensity football at a national level,” AIFF Secretary General P Anilkumar said.