Indian Women’s League second phase begins April 27

The second phase of the Indian Women’s League 2025-26 will begin on April 27 in Kolkata, featuring 29 matches across two venues. Defending champions East Bengal FC lead the table, while Sesa FA and Kickstart FC face relegation battles

Hyderabad: The second phase of the Indian Women’s League 2025-26 will kick off on April 27 in Kolkata.

The proceedings will start with East Bengal FC versus Sribhumi FC, a fixture rescheduled from Phase 1, at the East Bengal Ground on April 27 at 19:00 IST. Phase 1, which was held from December 20, 2025 to January 9, 2026, saw 27 matches. The league took a break of more than three months to allow player availability for the senior and U20 women’s national team camps, the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in March and the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup in April.

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A further 29 matches will be played in Phase 2 from April 27 to May 18, with the eight teams playing each other in the second leg of the double round-robin format. The matches will be played at two venues — AIFF National Centre of Excellence and the East Bengal Ground. All matches will kick off at 15:00 and 19:00 IST.

Defending champions East Bengal FC are currently at the top of the table with 18 points from six games, while Sesa FA and Kickstart FC occupy the relegation spots with one and six points respectively. The team with the most points at the end of the season will be crowned champions. The seventh and eighth-placed sides will be relegated to IWL 2 next season. The top two teams from the IWL 2 2025-26 final round will be promoted to IWL 2026-27.