Panaji: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has received a single bid from Capri Sports in response to its tender to monetise the commercial rights of the first and second divisions of the Indian Women’s League (IWL) for five years.The bid comes in the wake of a failed tender for the top-tier men’s football tournament, Indian Super League (ISL). The AIFF’s three-member bid evaluation committee (BEC) will now scrutinise the documents and is likely to make an announcement in the next 48 hours.Capri Sports, the sports business division of Capri Global, own the UP Warriorz franchise in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), Sharjah Warriors (ILT20) in the UAE, Rajasthan Warriors (Ultimate Kho Kho league) and Bengal Warriors (Pro Kabaddi League).The company has also invested in women’s football and recently acquired Rudra FC – now named Warriorz FC — in the Mumbai Football Association’s Women’s Premier League, with former India captain Aditi Chauhan as the mentor.The AIFF had stipulated in its RFP that the bidder should have a networth of Rs 30 crore at the close of the 2024-25 financial year. The selected bidder will have to pay Rs 3 crore annually to the AIFF as ‘governance and development’ fees.The next edition of the IWL will be played in two phases with the opening phase being held centrally in Bengal between Dec 20, 2025 and Jan 6, 2026. The league will take a break to allow the national teams to prepare for the AFC Asian Cup, AFC U-17 Asian Cup and AFC U-20 Asian Cup, before the second phase kicks off on April 20.
