India begin their AFC Women's Asian Cup on March 4 against Vietnam at Perth, in a bid to qualify for next year's FIFA Women's World Cup.
When India qualified for the Asian Cup after beating Thailand in their decisive qualifying fixture in July, it came in the backdrop of upheaval in the entire Indian football ecosystem. It was a big positive for the All India Football Federation (AIFF), amidst the then uncertainty with Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) and the Masters Right Agreement to monetise the commercials of Indian football.
Naturally, the women's team's qualification for the Asian Cup was welcome respite for the AIFF, and they were quick to announce a $50,000 cash reward for the team, in addition to making a host of promises for women's football.
Those promises ended up just being words on the many statements they have issued in the last year. The women's team has had to contend with uncertainty right from the day they qualified for the tournament.
Failed IWL promise
Soon after India beat Thailand in July, the AIFF said that the Indian Women's League (IWL), featuring eight teams playing 14 matches each, would be organised from September 2025 to January 2026. The Indian U-20 women's team, which also qualified for the U20 Women's Asian Cup, would play in the IWL too, that AIFF statement said.
"The earlier than usual scheduling would allow for ample preparation time in the lead-up to the AFC Women's Asian Cup," the statement read.
As it turned out, the only part they eventually got right in the organisation of the IWL was that eight teams took part in it.
The league began on December 20, three months later than the AIFF said it would. The U-20 women's team didn't take part in it. Only half the league has been finished so far, with the second half set to take place after the Asian Cup.
To compound matters, the organisation of the league itself was shoddy, with seven matches for each club crammed into the space of 20 days. Simultaneous games kicked off at 9 am and 2:30 pm. While the time of the year meant that the weather wasn't as punishing as it might have been in Kolkata, it was still less than ideal.
Where were the international friendlies
"The Blue Tigresses will undergo an 83-day preparation camp, which will be conducted in three phases," that AIFF statement stated immediately after qualification.
While there have been significant amounts of time spent in camps in October, November, and then from January 15 onwards, the operative part of these camps was completely missed out.
"This will include 10-12 international friendlies and five to seven matches with domestic teams," the AIFF said.
Since qualification, India have played three international matches -- one against Iran and two against Nepal in October. They won none of those games, but that is of little significance in this context.
The team needed to play games against quality opponents, the likes of which they'll come up against in the Asian Cup. Instead, they'd been reduced to playing against clubs from around Europe. Not the top-tier clubs -- because they were in the middle of their regular seasons.
Since those three friendlies in late October, India have played against eight different clubs -- six in Turkey over a 20-day period starting in mid-January, and then two in Australia since they landed there in mid-February. The FIFA international window in November was a complete waste. It simply isn't good enough preparation.
In the period since qualification, group opponents Vietnam and Chinese Taipei have played more international games than India. While their regional tournaments have helped them get more game time, it simply is more international minutes than India have had in that period.
Since July, Vietnam have played 13 international matches, and further five matches against domestic clubs from around the region. Chinese Taipei have played five international matches too, two more than India.
Visa fiasco
It wasn't by design that the FIFA international window in November went to waste. India were supposed to play two international friendlies in North Macedonia in that period, but eventually, the team only managed a training camp at the National Centre of Excellence in Kolkata.
While it is true that visas aren't under the federation's control, it's a situation that must have been dealt with in a more professional manner. The Sportstar had reported that the players had all reported to the North Macedonian embassy in New Delhi in early November, a couple of weeks before their scheduled trip there. Instead of the last-minute rush, why weren't these processes carried out well in advance?
When there was uncertainty over the issuance of visas, why did the AIFF not act quickly enough to ensure that the international window was used to play against quality opposition?
That episode has summed up the AIFF's approach to a potentially historic women's Asian Cup campaign. The challenge was hard enough with the best of preparation. Now with such a haphazard build-up, it will be a monumental achievement if India even make it out of their group.
The new coach
Amelia Valverde's credentials are quite superb -- with her work with Costa Rica and taking them to two World Cups in the past. However, how much of her own stamp could she put on this team in the two months that she's gotten before the tournament?
The former head coach Crispin Chettri, who's still a part of the coaching staff alongside PV Priya, took India to this tournament with a fantastic campaign in the qualifiers for this tournament.
Of course, Valverde's past experience of big tournaments will be of massive help, and for her, having Chettri and Priya by her side will be a huge help too.
However, there is a sense here that a manager with an impressive CV has been hired to try and work a miracle since she got very little time to work with the squad.