Image credit: AIFF

An Indian club is set to feature in the 2021 AFC Women’s Club Championship, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) confirmed on Tuesday.    

The pilot tournament -- in the build-up to AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 and FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022 both of which will be hosted in India -- will feature eight clubs from eight different countries and will be played from October 30 to November 14 later this year.

Group A (East) will comprise clubs from Chinese Taipei, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, while Group B (West) will have a club from India – Hero Indian Women’s League champions, that is -- as well clubs from IR Iran, Jordan and Uzbekistan. 

“An Indian club playing in the AFC Women’s Club Championship is a great opportunity to boost the growth of women’s football in India. We already have two International events – the AFC Women’s Asian Cup, and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup lined up in 2022.

“As a prelude to that, Indian representation in the Club Championship will further redefine women’s football in India to a large extent by capturing the imagination of all fans,” AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said.