India women's national football team

Football for women in Asia started later compared to their male counterparts. The seed of women's football in India was planted in the early 1970s. The first manager was Sushil Bhattacharya, in 1975[5][6] and from 1975 until 1991, the administration of the game was in the hands of the Women's Football Federation of India (WFFI), which comes under the Asian Ladies' Football Confederation (ALFC) that had recognition from neither FIFA nor AFC. Both organizations continuously tried to dissuade Asian countries from sending teams to these tournaments, for which the first few editions of AFC Women's Asian Cup seen very few teams. Thus, the 1980 featured two Indian teams (India N & India S), Western Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia.[7] India did well enough in all these tournaments under Sushil Bhattacharya. In the next edition of 1981 India achieved third position, defeated by Thailand, and became runners-up in the 1983, edition losing to Thailand again. This was the best chapter for the Indian women team in the Asian platform as since 1983 the performance declined along with mismanagement in the federation. The game was administered by WFFI from 1975 until the early 1990s, when they were absorbed into the AIFF.[8]

The AIFF did very less to lift the women's football from their meager condition. It was the time when FIFA conceptualized and organised FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991 and International Olympic Committee started the women's competition at 1996 Summer Olympics. Time and again, the AIFF officials stated that lifting the standard of women's football to the level of their Asian counterparts was their chief aim. The AIFF failed to sponsor the team's first foreign trip in 1997 to Germany before the Asian Championships. Eventually, the trip was made possibly with the help of the German Football Association and NRI's living in Germany.[9]

1998 Asian Games was first participation for the national team. They were defeated by Chinese Taipei 1–13, before facing the biggest defeat in the history by China PR with an embarrassing scoreline of 0–16.[10]

The women's game reached a new low in June 2009 when FIFA delisted the side from its world rankings, for being out of action for more than 18 months.[11] From 1991 to 2010 the performance of the Indian team was very poor, participating in just 5 editions.

After 2009 sanction by FIFA, the AIFF started to better the condition of the national team and women's football, which led to commencing SAFF Women's Championship and also including women's football in the South Asian Games. The women's team resumed playing on 29 January 2010 after nearly a year-long hiatus.[12] Indian team earn massive success in SAFF competitions, winning the SAFF Women's Championship four times in a row without losing a single game. Additionally, they won two gold medals at South Asian Games.[13]

They participated in the qualifiers for the 2012 Summer Olympics in March 2011. In their first match India has beaten group hosts Bangladesh 3–0. In the second round India played Uzbekistan, where they tied the first match 1–1, but lost the second leg 1–5.[14]

India participated for the second time at the Asian games in 2014, but the condition was not better than the previous participation, 16 years back in 1998. Though India defeated Maldives easily with 15–0 score, a similar fate was faced by them in the next two matches, being defeated by South Korea and Thailand with the same score of 0–10.[15]

In August 2018, Indian women national team was invited to participate in Cotif Tournament where clubs and national and autonomous teams participate every year since 1984, held at Valencia, Spain. 2018 Cotif was 35th Anniversary of the tournament.[16] At this tournament they faced 3 Spanish club teams and Morocco. First lost to Fundación Albacete, 1–4, then to Levante UD, 0–5, then the Moroccan side defeated India with a score 5–1, but on the last match India played with maturity, though lost to Madrid CFF with 0–1 score.

In November 2018, India qualified to the second round of 2020 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the first time since the qualifying tournament started for the 2008 Summer Olympics.[17][18]

For preparation of 2020 Olympics 2nd round qualifiers India played two matches each against Hong Kong and Indonesia winning all four of them 5–2 & 1–0 against Hong Kong and 3–0 & 2–0 against Indonesia respectively.[19][20] Following these matches India played at the 2019 Gold Cup organised at home, where they won their first match against Iran by 1–0 but lost next two matches to Nepal and Myanmar by 1–2 and 0–2 respectively and failed to reach the final.[21][22][23]

In 2022 India lost a match at the SAFF Championship for the first time.[24] They lost against Bangladesh 0–3 in the group stage.[25] The team also lost the semifinal against Nepal 0–1. Thus failing to win the SAFF title for the first time ever.[26]

India  v  Estonia

21 February 2024 Turkish Women's Cup	India	4–3	Estonia	Alanya, Turkey
13:30 UTC+5:30	Manisha 17', 81' Indumathi 62' Xaxa 79'	Report	Tammik 32' Kubassova 88' Lillemäe 90'	Stadium: Gold City Sport Complex Referee: Melis Özçiğdem (Turkey)

India  v  Hong Kong

24 February 2024 Turkish Women's Cup	India	2–0	Hong Kong	Alanya, Turkey
19:00 UTC+5:30	Tamang 19' Guguloth 79'	Report		Stadium: Gold City Sport Complex Referee: Melek Dakan (Turkey)

Kosovo  v  India

27 February 2024 Turkish Women's Cup	Kosovo	1–0	India	Alanya, Turkey
13:30 UTC+5:30	Memeti 90+2'	Report		Stadium: Gold City Sport Complex Referee: Gamze Durmuş (Turkey)

Uzbekistan  v  India

31 May Friendly

Uzbekistan

v

India

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan  v  India

4 June Friendly

Uzbekistan

v

India

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

• Official Fixtures and Results – The-AIFF.com

As of 27 February 2024, after the match against  Kosovo.

Name	Years	Played	Won	Draw	Lost	Win %
Sushil Bhattacharya	1975	–	–	–	–	–
J. Krishnaswamy	1980	6	3	2	1	50
unknown	1981	5	3	1	1	60
unknown	1983	6	4	0	2	66.67
unknown	1986	2	1	0	1	50
I. Arumainayagam[28]	1994	3	0	0	3	0
unknown	1995	3	0	0	3	0
unknown	1997	3	2	0	1	66.67
S. Arumainayagam[29]	1998	3	0	0	3	0
Harjinder Singh[30]	1999	4	1	0	3	25
P. K. Kabui[31]	2001	4	1	0	3	25
Moirangthem Ratankumar Singh[32]	2003	5	1	0	4	20
Harjinder Singh[33]	2005−2007	7	1	0	6	14.29
Sapam Premkanta Singh[34]	2007	2	1	0	1	50
Mohammad Shahid Jabbar	2009–2012	21	18	1	2	85.71
Anadi Barua	2013	5	2	1	2	40
Tarun Roy	2014	8	6	0	2	75
Sajid Dar	2015–2017	15	8	3	4	53.33
Maymol Rocky	2017–2021	33	18	5	10	54.55
Thomas Dennerby	2021–2023	21	7	3	11	33.33
Suren Chettri (interim)	2022	4	2	0	2	50
Langam Chaoba Devi	2024–	3	2	0	1	66.67
Total		163	81	16	66	49.69

Note: Only FIFA A matches considered.

The following 23 players were selected for the 2024 Turkish Women's Cup.[35]

Caps and goals are correct as of 27 February 2024, after the match against  Kosovo.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
21	1GK	Elangbam Panthoi Chanu	(1996-02-01) 1 February 1996	13	0	Metro United
1	1GK	Shreya Hooda	(1999-05-25) 25 May 1999	10	0	Odisha
20	1GK	Moirangthem Monalisha Devi	(2006-07-03) 3 July 2006	0	0	Odisha
4	2DF	Loitongbam Ashalata Devi (Captain)	(1993-07-03) 3 July 1993	89	4	Gokulam Kerala
17	2DF	Dalima Chhibber	(1997-08-30) 30 August 1997	52	2	Kickstart
14	2DF	Sorokhaibam Ranjana Chanu	(1999-03-10) 10 March 1999	33	3	Gokulam Kerala
2	2DF	Juli Kishan	(2000-04-10) 10 April 2000	5	0	Odisha
5	2DF	Astam Oraon	(2005-02-05) 5 February 2005	5	0	Odisha
3	2DF	Hemam Shilky Devi	(2005-11-23) 23 November 2005	12	1	Gokulam Kerala
8	2DF	Sanju Yadav	(1997-09-12) 12 September 1997	48	11	Odisha
12	3MF	Indumathi Kathiresan (Vice Captain)	(1994-06-05) 5 June 1994	57	17	Odisha
9	3MF	Anju Tamang	(1995-12-22) 22 December 1995	57	14	Gokulam Kerala
6	3MF	Sangita Basfore	(1996-07-12) 12 July 1996	53	3	SSB Women
23	3MF	Karthika Angamuthu	(2000-01-01) 1 January 2000	11	0	Odisha
22	3MF	Kajol D'Souza	(2006-04-28) 28 April 2006	0	0	Sethu
16	4FW	Manisha Kalyan	(2001-11-27) 27 November 2001	36	9	Apollon Limassol
11	4FW	Grace Dangmei	(1996-02-05) 5 February 1996	77	20	Gokulam Kerala
10	4FW	Pyari Xaxa	(1997-05-18) 18 May 1997	24	8	Odisha
13	4FW	Sandhiya Ranganathan	(1998-05-20) 20 May 1998	39	10	Gokulam Kerala
7	4FW	Soumya Guguloth	(2001-01-18) 18 January 2001	24	5	Gokulam Kerala
18	4FW	Karishma Shirvoikar	(2001-08-04) 4 August 2001	7	0	Kickstart
15	4FW	Jyoti Chouhan	(1999-07-06) 6 July 1999	3	0	Dinamo Zagreb
19	4FW	Kaviya Pakkirisamy	(2002-12-23) 23 December 2002	0	0	Sethu

The following footballers were part of a national selection in the past twelve months, but are not part of the current squad.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Maibam Linthoingambi Devi	(1999-02-02) 2 February 1999	9	0	Kickstart	NT camp, August 2023
GK	Sowmiya Narayanasamy	(2000-07-25) 25 July 2000	3	0	Gokulam Kerala	2024 AFC Olympic Qualifiers
GK	Anshika	(2003-02-22) 22 February 2003	0	0	HOPS	NT camp, February 2024
DF	Ngangbam Sweety Devi INJ	(1999-12-01) 1 December 1999	57	1	Odisha	2024 AFC Olympic Qualifiers
DF	Manisa Panna	(1991-04-20) 20 April 1991	31	0	Odisha	2024 AFC Olympic Qualifiers
DF	Ritu Rani	(1997-05-25) 25 May 1997	14	0	Kickstart	2024 AFC Olympic Qualifiers
DF	Michel Castanha	(1992-12-23) 23 December 1992	7	0	East Bengal	NT camp, August 2023
DF	Jabamani Tudu	(2000-04-10) 10 April 2000	26	1	Kickstart	NT camp, August 2023
DF	Mamta	(1997-06-23) 23 June 1997	0	0	HOPS	NT camp, February 2024
DF	Thounaojam Kritina Devi	(2003-02-10) 10 February 2003	0	0	Gokulam Kerala	NT camp, February 2024
MF	Naorem Priyangka Devi	(2003-04-09) 9 April 2003	7	2	Sethu	NT camp, February 2024
MF	Asem Roja Devi	(2000-04-15) 15 April 2000	13	0	Gokulam Kerala	NT camp, August 2023
MF	Pavithra Murugesan	(2002-04-20) 20 April 2002	0	0	Gokulam Kerala	NT camp, February 2024
MF	Aveka Singh	(2003-12-30) 30 December 2003	0	0	UC Irvine Anteaters	NT camp, October 2023
FW	Bala Devi	(1990-02-02) 2 February 1990	64	52	Manipur Police	2024 AFC Olympic Qualifiers
FW	Renu Gour	(2001-01-16) 16 January 2001	21	4	HOPS	2024 AFC Olympic Qualifiers
FW	Lynda Kom	(2005-02-28) 28 February 2005	0	0	Odisha	NT camp, February 2024
FW	Neha	(2006-05-19) 19 May 2006	0	0	HOPS	NT camp, February 2024
FW	Apurna Narzary	(2004-01-08) 8 January 2004	5	0	Sethu	NT camp, August 2023
FW	Sumati Kumari	(2004-01-15) 15 January 2004	2	0	Gokulam Kerala	NT camp, August 2023
INJ Withdrew due to injury PRE Preliminary squad / standby RET Retired from the national team SUS Serving suspension WD Player withdrew from the squad due to non-injury issue.

FIFA Women's World Cup record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
1991	Did not enter
1995
1999	Did not qualify
2003
2007
2011	Did not enter
2015	Did not qualify
2019
2023	Withdrew from qualification
2027	To be determined
Total	0/9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

AFC Women's Asian Cup record Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA GD 1975 Did not enter 1977 1980 Runners Up 2nd 7 4 2 1 8 3 +5 1981 Third Place 3rd 5 3 1 1 15 1 +14 1983 Runners Up 2nd 6 4 0 2 11 5 +6 1986 Did not enter 1989 1991 1993 1995 Group stage 10th 3 0 0 3 3 12 −9 1997 Group stage 5th 3 2 0 1 13 1 +12 1999 Group stage 11th 4 1 0 3 3 12 −9 2001 Group stage 9th 4 1 0 3 3 13 −10 2003 Group stage 9th 3 1 0 2 7 14 −7 2006 Did not qualify 2008 2010 Did not enter 2014 Did not qualify 2018 2022 Originally qualified as host, but withdrew due to COVID-19 pandemic inside the team[lower-alpha 1] 2026 To be determined 2029 Total 9/19 0 Titles 35 16 3 16 63 61 +2 Notes: India failed to name the required 13 players and were unable to play their match of the group stage against Chinese Taipei due to them having only fewer than 13 players left with the remaining team members testing positive for COVID-19. They were considered to have withdrawn from the competition, and all previous matches played by them were considered "null and void" and would not be considered in determining the final group rankings.[42]

AFC Women's Asia Cup History Year Round Score Result 1980 Round 1 India S  2–0  Western Australia Won India S  2–0  Hong Kong Won India S  0–0  Chinese Taipei Draw India S  1–0  India N Won India S  0–0  Malaysia Draw Semi-final India S  3–1  Hong Kong Won Final India S  0–2  Chinese Taipei Loss 1981 Round 1 India  5–0  Singapore Won India  8–0  Philippines Won India  0–0  Hong Kong Draw Semi-final India  0–1  Thailand Loss 3rd Place India  2–0  Hong Kong Won 1983 Round 1 India  5–0  Philippines Won India  1–0  Hong Kong Won India  3–0  Malaysia Won India  1–2  Thailand Loss India  1–0  Singapore Won Final India  0–2  Thailand Loss 1995 Round 1 India  0–1  Uzbekistan Loss India  0–6  Japan Loss India  0–5  South Korea Loss 1997 Round 1 India  3–0  Hong Kong Won India  0–1  Japan Loss India  10–0  Guam Won 1999 Round 1 India  0–7  North Korea Loss India  3–0  Malaysia Won India  0–3  Vietnam Loss India  0–3  Chinese Taipei Loss 2001 Round 1 India  0–7  South Korea Loss India  0–5  Chinese Taipei Loss India  0–1  Thailand Loss India  3–0  Malaysia Won 2003 Round 1 India  6–0  Uzbekistan Won India  0–12  China Loss India  1–2  Vietnam Loss 2022 Round 1 India  0–0  Iran Voided India  n/a  Chinese Taipei Cancelled India  n/a  China Cancelled

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

At 1979 AFC Asia Cup India placed two teams, India Senior(India S) and India Novice(India N), other version called as India North and India South.

Asian Games record Year Result Position Pld W D* L GF GA GD 1990 DNP 1994 1998 Group stage 8th 3 0 0 3 1 36 −35 2002 DNP 2006 2010 2014 Group stage 9th 3 1 0 2 15 20 −5 2018 DNP 2022 Group stage 13th 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2 Total 3/9 0 Titles 8 1 0 7 17 59 −42

Asian Games History Year Round Score Result 1998 Round 1 India  0–7  South Korea Loss India  1–13  Chinese Taipei Loss India  0–16  China Loss 2014 Round 1 India  15–0  Maldives Won India  0–10  South Korea Loss India  0–10  Thailand Loss 2022 Round 1 India  1–2  Chinese Taipei Loss India  0–1  Thailand Loss

• DNP: did not participate
• DNQ: did not qualify

Bold Positions show best finish in the tournaments.

India has won the SAFF Women's Championship five times in a row.[43]

SAFF Women's Championship record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
2010	Winners		5	5	0	0	40	0	+40
2012	Winners		5	5	0	0	33	1	+32
2014	Winners		5	5	0	0	36	1	+35
2016	Winners		4	3	1	0	11	3	+8
2019	Winners		4	4	0	0	18	1	+17
2022	Semi-final		4	2	0	2	12	4	+8
Total	6/6	5 Titles	27	24	1	2	150	10	+140

India has won the South Asian Games three times.

South Asian Games record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA	GD
2010	Winners		5	5	0	0	29	2	+27
2016	Winners		5	3	2	0	14	1	+13
2019	Winners		4	4	0	0	14	0	+14
Total	3/3	3 Titles	14	12	2	0	57	3	+54

Red border indicates, India had hosted the games.

• Gold Cup

2019 : 3rd place

• Turkish Women's Cup

2019: 6th place

2021: Friendlies

2024: Runners-up[44]

• Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino

2021: 4th place