AFC Women’s Asian Cup: The 20th edition of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup will kickstart in a few days. This time India will host the tournament featuring 12 teams from the continental. The prestigious tournament will entirely be hosted in the state of Maharastra due to the rising COVID case the All India Football Federation (AIFF) thought this to be th best possible way to limit the travel. Follow all the AFC Women’s Asian Cup updates only on InsideSport.IN
A total of three stadiums have been assigned to host the matches supported by world-class facilities and training centres. The stadiums have been revamped for the biggest footballing spectacle in the continental.
The AFC Women's Asian Cup trophy has reached India! 🇮🇳#WAC2022 preparations are on track and we look forward to welcoming all teams who will be playing their best game to lift this trophy 🏆@IndianFootball @theafcdotcom#OurGoalForAll #ShePower #football pic.twitter.com/29DYEakLxW
— Praful Patel (@praful_patel) January 10, 2022
Prize Money
The AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 are historic in many sense and one such factor is that the winner of this tournament for the first time will be handed prize money besides the trophy. The news was confirmed by the Asian Football Federation (AFC).
Talking to ABC, an AFC spokesperson confirmed, “In line with the AFC’s mission to raise the standard of its competitions, the champion of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup will receive a prize purse of $1 million, while the runners-up and losing semi-finalists will earn $500,000 and $150,000 respectively.”
The Stadiums
- Balewadi Stadium ( Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex) in Pune
- Mumbai Football Arena (Andheri Sports Complex) in the heart of the city, Mumbai
- DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai
All three stadiums have hosted significant matches in the last couple of years. The stadiums have gone through a lot of renovation starting from installation of new floodlights to upgradation of the turf, everything has been done according to international standards.
The Teams
India have reached the finals of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup twice back in 1979 and four years later in 1983. However, they will aim to script such history on home soil. But achieving that will be very tough as there are teams like reigning champions Japan and last editions finalists Australia. Then there are other former champion teams starting from Thailand, who won the tournament back in 1983 to three time winners Chinese Taipei (1977,1979, 1981). Surprisingly Australia despite having such great players have only won it once back in 2010. They came close in the last edition reaching the finals against Japan but eventually lost out at the big stage.
Last but definitely not least there are the Chinese who are looking to dominate the tournament yet again. China have won this tournament a total of eight times. However, their last win came back in 2006 and they could only finish third in the last edition of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup.
Also Read: AFC Women’s Asian Cup: Injured Bala Devi misses out as India announce 23-member squad for Asian Cup
The Groups
Group A
- India (HOSTS)
- China PR
- Chinese Taipei
- Iran
India will kickstart their campaign on 20th January when they will take on debutants Iran. The Blues Tigresses will then face Chinese Taipei on 23rd January and lastly, they will go up against China on the 26th of January.
Group B
- Australia
- Thailand
- Philippines
- Indonesia
Group C
- Japan
- South Korea
- Vietnam
- Myanmar
The Fixtures
Group A Fixtures
| Date | Time (IST) | Stadium | Fixture |
| January 20, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | China PR vs Chinese Taipei |
| January 20, 2022 | 7:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai | India vs Iran |
| January 23, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | Iran vs China PR |
| January 23, 2022 | 7:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai | Chinese Taipei vs India |
| January 26, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | India vs China PR |
| January 26, 2022 | 7:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai | Chinese Taipei vs Iran |
Group B Fixtures
| Date | Time (IST) | Stadium | Fixture |
| January 21, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | Australia vs Indonesia |
| January 21, 2022 | 5:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai | Thailand vs Philippines |
| January 24, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | Philippines vs Australia |
| January 24, 2022 | 5:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai | Indonesia vs Thailand |
| January 27, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Mumbai Football Arena, Mumbai | Australia vs Thailand |
| January 27, 2022 | 7:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai | Philippines vs Indonesia |
Group C Fixtures
| Date | Time (IST) | Fixture | Stadium |
| January 21, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Japan vs Myanmar | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune |
| January 21, 2022 | 7:30 pm | South Korea vs Vietnam | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune |
| January 24, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Myanmar vs South Korea | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune |
| January 24, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Vietnam vs Japan | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune |
| January 27, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Japan vs South Korea | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune |
| January 27, 2022 | 3:30 pm | Vietnam vs Myanmar | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai |
Quarterfinal Fixtures
| Date | Time (IST) | Venue | Fixture |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 30, 2022 | 5:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai | Group A Winner vs Group B/C Third Place |
| January 30, 2022 | 1:30 pm | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune | Group B Winner vs Group C Runner-Up |
| January 30, 2022 | 1:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai | Group C Winner vs Group A/B Third Place |
| January 30, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune | Group A Runner-Up vs Group B Runner-Up |
Semifinal fixtures
| Date | Time (IST) | Venue | Fixture |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 3, 2022 | 7:30 pm | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune | QF1 Winner vs QF3 Winner |
| February 3, 2022 | 8:30 pm | Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune | QF2 Winner vs QF4 Winner |
Final Fixtures
| Date | Time (IST) | Venue | Fixture |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 6, 2022 | 4:30 pm | DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai | SF1 Winner vs SF2 Winner |
Know the Blue Tigresses
The Indian Women’s national team led by their Swedish tactician Thomas Dennerby may not be the favourites for this tournament but their tours to Europe and Brazil would have surely helped the ladies fine-tuned their skills ahead of the big tournament. So they are definitely a force to be reckoned with despite being in a tough group with Chinese Taipei, China and Iran.
The Blue Tigresses will sadly miss the services of their star forward Bala Devi. She is one of the most skilled footballers in the country having plied her trade for Scottish giants Rangers FC. But an ACL injury last year has kept her out of the tournament. Similarly, young talented midfielder Sangeeta Basfore is also not a part of the 23-member Indian squad because of an ACL injury.
Overall the Indian Women’s football team are ready to show their magic at the continental stage. Their first aim will be to qualify for the quarterfinals and will look to gradually take it from there. However, their eyes will be on the big prize of qualifying for the 2023 FIFA World Cup. Apart from Australia, four other teams will get the chance to make it to the world event. So the result of the Aussies in the quarterfinals will be very crucial as one lucky team will get to fight for a place in the World Cup in the repechage round.
Here is the Indian Women’s team for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup
GOALKEEPERS: Aditi Chauhan (1), Maibam Linthoingambi Devi (23), Sowmiya Narayanasamy (19).
DEFENDERS: Dalima Chhibber (17), Sweety Devi Ngangbam (2), Ritu Rani (21), Loitongbam Ashalata Devi (4), Manisa Panna (3), Hemam Shilky Devi (5), Sanju Yadav (8).
MIDFIELDERS: Yumnam Kamala Devi (6), Anju Tamang (9), Karthika Angamuthu (20), Nongmeithem Ratanbala Devi (7), Naorem Priyangka Devi (14), Indumathi Kathiresan (12).
FORWARDS: Manisha Kalyan (16), Grace Dangmei (11), Pyari Xaxa (10), Renu (15), Sumati Kumari (22), Sandhiya Ranganathan (13), Mariyammal Balamurugan (18).
Telecast
Eurosport India by Discovery Network and Jio TV Network have acquired broadcasting rights for quadrennial international football tournament AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022. Eurosport India will telecast the tournament on television. While fans will also have an option of streaming the matches on Jio TV.
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