Sports News | AIFF Records Massive Rise in Women's Player Registration
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. Indian football has recorded a massive 138 per cent surge in women's player registration in the last two years, indicating a healthy growth in the popularity of the sport as well as an increase in young female athletes opting for football professionally.
New Delhi, Apr 25 (PTI) Indian football has recorded a massive 138 per cent surge in women's player registration in the last two years, indicating a healthy growth in the popularity of the sport as well as an increase in young female athletes opting for football professionally.
According to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Central Registration System (CRS) data, India has 27,936 registered female footballers as of March 2024 -- up from the 11,724 female players registered in June 2022.
Also Read | IPL 2024: Top Five Players To Watch Out for in Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Clash.
"It's a very positive trend we are witnessing in India," said AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey.
"To have as many as 16,212 new female players in our football ecosystem is an encouraging sign that we are on the right track in our planning for the women's football in India."
Also Read | Former Pakistan Women's Captain Bismah Maroof Retires from All Forms of Cricket.
Chaubey attributed the increase to a slew of measures including "course correction that was brought in for the Indian Women's League (IWL)" in the current season of 2023-24, in addition to the subsequent introduction of a second division competition IWL-2.
"Availability of live broadcast has indeed helped in enhancing the profile of the sport," he added.
The 2022-23 season of IWL was played at a single venue in Ahmedabad among 16 teams, with Gokulam Kerala FC winning their third consecutive title. This season (2023-24) the format was changed to 'home-and-away'.
Odisha FC emerged victorious ending Gokulam Kerala FC's three-year long dominance and will represent India in the AFC continental competition.
The inaugural IWL-2 saw participation of 15 clubs at the group stage, six of which have qualified for the final round scheduled next month in Kolkata.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)