OFC announce its OFCW is to participate in Hero IWL

Odisha Football Club (OFC) is thrilled to announce that the OFC Women’s team (OFCW) is going

to participate in its first-ever Hero Indian Women’s League-2023 (Hero IWL).

The club conducted

a press conference on April 21st at the Kalinga Stadium. Head coach Crispin Chetri spoke to the

Media along with the players Bala Devi & Pyari Xaxa.

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 & 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, etc.

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)