Women’s team of Odisha FC to play in Hero Indian Women’s League

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Football Club’s (OFC) Women’s team (OFCW) is going to participate in its first-ever Hero Indian Women’s League-2023 (Hero IWL).

The Hero Indian Women’s League, founded in 2016, is India’s first professional football league for women. With 16 teams from across the country participating, the 2023 edition will be held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The winner of the Hero IWL will get a chance to represent India in the AFC Women’s Club Championship, Asia’s top-tier women’s club football competition.

Hero IWL 2023 will consist of two groups, Group A and Group B, with 8 teams in each group. Four teams from each group will qualify for the knockout round consisting of single-leg quarter-final, Semi-final & the Final. The OFCW team has been drawn into Group B.

Odisha FC qualified for Hero IWL by winning the Odisha Women League (OWL) while remaining unbeaten in the 10 games played. Odisha FC Women’s team is a strong contender in the Hero IWL, with a lineup consisting of former India captain Bala Devi, Brazilian defender Cynthia dos Santos, and Ghanaian international Faustina Akpo. Cynthia will be the first-ever Brazilian to play in the Hero IWL. The team has a strong base of local players (13 Odia players) including Pyari Xaxa, Juli Kishan, Manisa Panna among others.

OFC Squad
Arifa Zaheer Sayed, Grace Hauhnar, Sonali Chemate, Shreya Hooda, Pyari Xaxa, Juli Kishan, Jasoda Munda, Karishma Oram, Satyabati Khadia, Sumitra Xalxo, Bannya Kabiraj, Malati Munda, Deepa Nayak, Sasmita Parida, Susmita Tanty, Karthika Angamuthu, Sweety Devi, Munica Minz, Anju Tamang, Sradhanjali Panda, Payal Basude, N. Bala Devi, Serto Lynda Kom, Faustina W. Akpo, Cynthia Santos, Manisa Panna.

Group B Teams –
Odisha FC, Sethu FC (Tamil Nadu), Kickstart FC (Karnataka), Celtic Queens FC (Pondicherry), Lords FA Kochi (Kerala), Eastern Sporting Union (Manipur), Churchill Brothers (Goa), CRPF FC (Punjab)