Indian women’s football faces crisis of neglect, agent says

The Indian Women's League 2 was scheduled to begin on July 20 but has been postponed with no revised date, explanation or compensation for clubs that had already booked grounds and pitches. The Indian Women's League is scheduled for September 3, but sources say no commercial partner deal has been signed yet, even though bids opened in March. Pragati Banka, India's first female FIFA-licensed football agent, told Times Now that the only consistent thing in women's football is the inconsistency.

Banka said contracts are often not honoured, with players promised sums of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 6 lakh but not paid. Players fear being labelled troublemakers if they pursue legal action, and clubs take advantage of that. Even after Banka won a case against a Kerala club for a national team player, it took more than six months to collect the money, and the club continued registering new players despite a ban.

In the IWL 2, the majority of players are not paid. Pre-seasons are squeezed into 10 days with two sessions a day, and players often face poor food and lack of mattresses. The scouting system is skewed, relying on word of mouth and a few states, and many women's matches are not filmed, leaving eliminated teams without any footage for talent identification.