Football in India received a massive boost last year as the FIFA U-17 World Cup was welcomed by enormous crowds and huge interest across the world’s second largest nation. With that major landmark ticked off, attention has now focused on further developing women’s football in this sprawling and diverse nation of 1.3 billion people.

FIFA, through its Forward Programme, invests money back into the game by working together with member associations on a tailor-made approach to development, with India seeing USD 700,000 contributed to help establish a women's league in the country: the Indian Women’s League (IWL).

So far, India’s impact at international level has been limited. Though there has been a national side since the 1970s, India failed to even field a team for FIFA Women’s World Cup™ qualifiers as recently as 2011. Success over the years has been infrequent, and typically limited to dominating the South Asian Football Federation championship against regional rivals.

The experiences of other countries around the globe indicate that success of a vibrant national women’s competition is pivotal to growth. With this in mind, the world governing body and the AIl India Football Federation (AIFF) have put a focus on growing a sustainable and competitive club competition. The hope is that a new women's league can not only help underpin a stronger national team, but can also provide a crucial link from grassroots level.

"Some of the oldest football clubs in the world hail from India,” said Sanjeevan Balasingam, FIFA Member Association Regional Director for Asia and Oceania. “However, there is no established club culture yet for women's football in India. So the IWL will help achieve that and positive strides are already being made.

“India's FIFA Women's ranking is presently 57 and IWL will create a larger talent pool which will benefit Indian football and its national team. IWL is also acting as a tool for women's empowerment in India.”

The first step was taken last year with the first edition of the IWL.

Oinam Bembem Devi, the nation’s most-capped player, has long been a strong advocate for developing women’s football. For Devi, the creation of the league is necessary if the game is to reach the next level.