# Women will reach FIFA World Cup before men: AIFF member 2026-08-19T16:19:50+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet All India Football Federation executive committee member Valanka Alemao has predicted that the Indian women's football team will qualify for a FIFA World Cup before the men's team. Speaking exclusively to Sports Now, she said the women's hunger and performance justify her confidence. India's women are ranked 69th in the world and have qualified for the AFC Asian Cup at the senior, U17 and U20 levels on merit this year, with the U20 team ending a 20-year drought and the U17 team advancing past the group stage for the first time. Alemao, who is also CEO of Churchill Brothers, acknowledged that the men's team still receives more attention and resources despite poorer results. She urged the media to give greater coverage to women's football. However, she offered little clarity on the women's domestic calendar, which remains in limbo after the postponement of both the Indian Women's League (IWL) and IWL 2. She said decisions on the league structure and a commercial partner are being worked upon. Alemao is the first woman elected to the AIFF executive committee in 83 years. She said she wants to build a path for more women administrators and ruled out a run for the AIFF presidency at this stage, stating she is not prepared for it. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The AIFF has been struggling to finalise a women's league calendar for months, leaving clubs and players without fixtures or income. The IWL and IWL 2 postponements have hit the development pipeline hardest: the lower tier is where state-level talent emerges. Without a structured league, the senior team's ranking gains risk stalling. Capri Sports was the sole bidder for the league's commercial rights, but no deal has been announced. If the domestic calendar remains uncertain into the new season, the federation's stated goal of World Cup qualification will ring hollow. The next AIFF executive committee meeting is the date to watch. ## Coverage - timesnownews.com Straightforward interview coverage with no editorial slant on Alemao's claims or on AIFF's domestic calendar issues. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: All India Football Federation, FIFA World Cup, Indian women's football team, Indian Women's League, Valanka Alemao Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/women-will-reach-fifa-world-cup-before-men-aiff-member/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/women-will-reach-fifa-world-cup-before-men-aiff-member/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/