Collateral damage: Indian Women’s football on the brink of being wasted by administration

Sangita Basfore broke down in tears when India sealed qualification for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup two months ago.

It wasn’t just the joy of winning; it was two decades of pent-up frustration spilling out.

The last time India reached Asia’s showpiece on merit, many of her current teammates were children. This time, the qualification was not a backdoor entry, not a wild card, and certainly not granted via an administrative act of charity.

It was earned the hard way, with players running themselves into the ground in qualifiers that few even bothered to televise.

Then, a month later, the under-20s followed suit. Another merit-based qualification, with Shubhangi Singh throwing her body in front of shots. Another slice of history.

In one remarkable summer, Indian women’s football had done what generations before them could not: secure their seat at the table on performance alone.

But while debates rage all day over the ISL, and men’s football dominates every headline, not recognising these historic achievements and a lack of impetus could translate to an inflicting of collateral damage on the women's game in India. 

Instead of riding that wave into the most crucial year of their lives, these women stand on the brink of losing everything.

Promises without action

The All India Football Federation promised that the Indian Women’s League would begin in September.

We are now on the cusp of September, and yet there are no fixtures, no broadcast schedule, and not a word from the federation.

A league starting now would have guaranteed at least six months of competitive football before March’s Asian Cup.

Add to that the much-publicised plan for seven or eight international friendlies — essential to test themselves against stronger opposition — and you had the outlines of a proper build-up.

Yet here we are. No league. No friendlies. No clarity.

This is not just about keeping players fit. It is about respect.

When the men’s national team prepares for continental competition, even the AIFF finds a way to organise tours. On the contrary, the women, who have arguably delivered more in proportion to their support, are left in the lurch.

The ban that could sting

And then there is the bigger danger: a FIFA ban.

India has been there before. In 2022, when FIFA suspended the AIFF, Gokulam Kerala’s women were left stranded in Uzbekistan, denied their AFC Women’s Champions League debut.

It was humiliating, both for the players and the sport.

That spectre now looms again.

If the Supreme Court reforms drag on, or if AIFF fails to meet FIFA’s governance demands, suspension is very much back on the table.

FIFA and the AFC have given the AIFF time until October 30 to rectify its long-pending revised constitution, failing which Indian teams and clubs could face suspension from international competitions.

FIFA and AFC expressed “profound concern” over the federation’s failure to implement reforms under consideration since the Supreme Court proceedings in 2017. The letter from FIFA warned that the absence of a compliant governance framework has created “an untenable vacuum and legal uncertainties at the heart of Indian football."

The global and continental bodies have directed the AIFF to secure a definitive Supreme Court order approving the revised constitution, ensure full alignment with FIFA and AFC statutes, and obtain ratification from its general body.

And a ban is not just about missing AFC tournaments. It cuts India off from the world. No country will play a FIFA-banned nation, which means no friendlies, no exposure, no development.

For the women’s national team — staring at Asia’s elite in March — it would be crippling.

Consider East Bengal’s women. Right now, they are one result away from creating history in the AFC Women’s Champions League.

A draw on August 31 would see them qualify for the next round. Everything they have worked for, all the strides made since the IWL expanded, could be wiped away with one administrative decision outside their control.

It would be Gokulam Kerala all over again — a team ready to compete at Asia’s top level, only to be told at the airport that they cannot represent their country.

The ISL mess spills over

Part of the problem is timing. Indian football is once again in administrative limbo.

The Master Rights Agreement between the AIFF and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) — the Reliance-led commercial body running the ISL — expires in December 2025.

By June, FSDL had already informed clubs that the 2025–26 ISL season was “on hold.” By July 11, the AIFF formally admitted it.

In August, eleven ISL clubs threatened a permanent shutdown if no resolution came. FIFPRO, the global players’ union, stepped in to warn of “catastrophic and irreversible” damage. The Supreme Court eventually forced the AIFF and FSDL into a joint resolution.

On August 28, FSDL waived its exclusive rights, allowing the AIFF to invite bids for a new commercial partner by October 15.

On paper, this offers a lifeline. In reality, it only deepens the uncertainty.

Every rupee the AIFF spends on women’s football comes from that commercial pot — FSDL has been paying ₹50 crore a year, roughly 20% of ISL’s revenues.

With the model collapsing, women’s football is the first on the chopping block.

The cost of neglect

The saddest part is that this year could have changed everything. Women’s football has momentum.

The senior team, the U20s, East Bengal, Gokulam Kerala — the pieces are finally there. Yet when Indian football’s house catches fire, it is the women who are consumed first.

The IWL only just graduated to a proper home-and-away format. Sponsorship remains negligible. Broadcasts are patchy, and streaming is often unreliable.

And now, with the ISL’s future uncertain, even the little investment that trickled down risks drying up.

Contrast this with cricket. The Women’s Premier League was born not just with financial muscle but with intent.

The AIFF has neither.

And the result is that when history is there for the taking, Indian women’s football risks being remembered only as footnote.

If the IWL does not start next month, if the promised friendlies vanish into thin air, if East Bengal are barred despite qualifying, if the national teams reach Asia unprepared, then this entire summer’s triumphs will be wasted.

The story will not be of Basfore’s tears of joy, or Shubhangi Singh’s fearless tackles. It will be about how Indian football once again found a way to trip its women at the very moment they were ready to run.

And that, perhaps, is the cruellest part: they did everything right. But the system still managed to fail them.

Collateral damage, once again.