IWL 2025-26 phase 2 to kick off on April 27 in Kolkata

NEW DELHI: The second phase of the Indian Women’s League (IWL) 2025-26 will kick off on Monday, 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 hiatus of more than three months to allow player availability for the senior and U20 women’s national teams camps and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup in March and the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup in April, as per a press release.

The Indian Women’s League is back for the second phase in Kolkata!

The 2025-26 season resumes on April 27 and will end on May 18

Read more https://t.co/FmlkTyZ4ch#IWL #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/s4HVAnXWIQ

— Indian Women’s League (@INDWomensLeague) April 17, 2026

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 of the league. The matches will be played in 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. On the other hand, 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. (ANI)