VENUE AND SCHEDULE
Following the preliminary rounds in Kolhapur's Rajarshi Shahu Stadium, the final chapter of Indian Women’s League (IWL) 2017-18 will begin on March 26. The semi-final is slated for April 11 while the finale will be played on April 14. The fixtures list can be seen here.
The matches of the final phase will be played at Shillong's JLN Stadium. Last season, the venue was New Delhi's Ambedkar Stadium.
FORMAT
The tournament will be played among seven teams where they will face each other once. At the end of this, the top four shall qualify for the semi-final.
TEAMS
1) Eastern Rising Union, Manipur
2) Rising Student Club, Odisha
3) KRYPSHA, Manipur
4) India Rush Soccer Club, Maharashtra
5) Sethu FC, Tamil Nadu
6) Gokulam FC, Kerala
7) Indira Gandhi Academy for Sports & Education, Tamil Nadu
Eastern Rising Union are the title defenders as they got the better of Rising Student Club in a 3-0 win in the final last season. Barring the two outfits, all others are first-time contestants in the final phase.
Also, Gokulam Kerala are the only team from I-League or Indian Super League to name a side in this year's IWL.The outfits from ISL or I-League are given direct entry into the final phase.
FOREIGNER RULE
The teams are allowed a maximum of two foreign players in the squad with one on the bench and one in the playing XI. Gokulam Kerala are the only side so far to have recruited foreign signings with Uganda Internationals Fazila Ikwaput and Ritah Nabbosa joining the squad.
