IWL to be held in Chennai for first time; Sethu FC to play home games at Nehru stadium

CHENNAI: Chennai will play host to the Indian Women’s League (IWL) for the first time as Tamil Nadu-based club Sethu FC will hold their home matches at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Last season, when the home-and-away format was introduced in the IWL, Sethu played their home games at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco after Chennai’s Nehru stadium was made unavailable. Since the venue hosted the Khelo India Youth Games and Indian Super League (ISL) club Chennaiyin FC’s matches in the early part of the year, Sethu were forced to shift base.

This time, Sethu, over the coming months, will share the Nehru stadium with Chennaiyin, who are currently competing in ISL Season 11. It is to be recalled that the IWL fixtures are yet to be announced by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

“We approached the Tamil Nadu government (which owns the venue) and the process was completed swiftly. For every game, we will rent the stadium for the matchday and the day prior to the matchday,” Sethu founder and owner M Seeni Mohaideen told TOI on Monday.

Seeni said that the club would benefit from playing on home soil. “We are the only team from TN in the IWL; we have been playing for the last eight years. There was no home-and-away format in the IWL until last season; when we won the title in the 2018-19 season, we did not get to play at home. We have been one of the most consistent teams in the league. Playing at home will be a good thing and will give us exposure,” added Seeni.

Learning lessons from last campaign

After an underwhelming campaign last season, finishing fourth, Sethu are keen to perform much better. They have made big changes behind the scenes, including the appointment of Shareef Khan, who has replaced Kanan Priolkar as the head coach.

“Last season, we had a few setbacks like injuries to key players and unavailability of some players due to other reasons. To ensure that we have a good matchday squad for every game, we have decided to include 30 players in the squad. We have made good foreign signings and the announcements will be made soon. All IWL teams are well balanced and I feel that there will be stiff competition for the title,” said Seeni.



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