Kolkata: The Indian Women’s League 2025-26 season concluded on Monday, May 18. Newly-crowned champions East Bengal FC signed off with a 2-0 victory against Sribhumi Football Club at the East Bengal Ground, while Gokulam Kerala FC were held to a 1-1 draw by Nita Football Academy at the same venue.
At the National Centre of Excellence, Kickstart FC, Karnataka and Sethu FC played out a 1-1 draw, while Garhwal United FC secured a 3-1 win against Sesa Football Academy.
While East Bengal had already secured themselves the title with a match to spare, Garhwal United FC, with their win against Sesa, managed to avoid relegation. Sribhumi, meanwhile, will drop to IWL 2 alongwith Sesa FA next season.
Following the conclusion of the fixtures, East Bengal were presented with the trophy in the presence of Shri Kalyan Chaubey, President, All India Football Federation, Mr. Prince Rufus, FIFA Regional Office South Asia Lead, Mr. Debabrata Sarkar, Director, East Bengal FC, and Mr. Ajit Banerjee, President, Indian Football Association (WB).
Individual honours at the conclusion of the Indian Women’s League 2025-26 season saw Fazila Ikwaput of East Bengal FC named Best Striker, while Nirmala Devi Phanjoubam of Sethu FC received the Best Defender award. Sanfida Nongrum of Garhwal United FC was adjudged the Best Midfielder, and Panthoi Chanu Elangbam of East Bengal FC won the Best Goalkeeper award.
East Bengal FC secured a 2-0 victory over Sribhumi Football Club in the Indian Women’s League 2025-26 at the East Bengal Ground, thus condemning the latter to relegation.
With this win, East Bengal have secured direct qualification to the upcoming AFC Women’s Champions League 2026-27.This back-to-back championship guarantees their return to the continental stage for the East Bengal FC (women).During the 2025-26 season, the club became the first Indian side to register a win in the group stage of the AFC Women’s Champions League. They finished third in their group with 3 points from 3 matches.They historically defeated Iran’s Bam Khatoon FC 3-1. However, suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Wuhan Jiangda WFC, and were eliminated from the knockout contention following a 3-0 defeat to PFC Nasaf of Uzbekistan.
The Moshal Girls made a bright start and nearly took the lead in the third minute when Resty Nanziri drove into the box and forced a save from Sarangthem Khambi Chanu. The rebound fell kindly for Fazila Ikwaput, but the league’s leading scorer blazed her effort over the crossbar. Soumya Guguloth also came close in the 11th minute with a glancing header from a cross on the left, but failed to keep her attempt on target.
East Bengal dominated possession and territory for most of the opening half, although Sribhumi’s disciplined defensive shape helped them withstand sustained pressure. The visitors created their first meaningful attack in the 37th minute when Rimpa Haldar surged forward and unleashed a shot from the edge of the box, forcing Elangbam Panthoi Chanu into a stretched save.
Karthika Angamuthu then struck the woodwork before East Bengal eventually broke the deadlock in the 41st minute. Angamuthu won a penalty after being brought down inside the box, and Ikwaput calmly converted from the spot to score her 20th league goal of the season. The Ugandan forward had also become the outright highest goalscorer in Indian Women’s League history in the previous match after taking her tally to 61 goals, moving past Sabitra Bhandari’s mark of 60.
East Bengal resumed the second half on the front foot, with Ikwaput trying her luck from distance shortly after the restart. The hosts doubled their advantage in the 55th minute when Angamuthu threaded a precise through ball into the box for Sulanjana Raul, who poked the ball past the goalkeeper.
The Kolkata side continued to control proceedings and kept Sribhumi pinned back for large spells, with the defence forced into constant action to deal with East Bengal’s attacking pressure. Guguloth came close to adding a third in the 85th minute when her low strike from inside the box rattled the near post, before missing another opportunity in stoppage time.
Despite Sribhumi’s defensive resilience in phases, East Bengal comfortably saw out the remainder of the contest to register a deserved 2-0 win. The celebrations continued after the final whistle as the players marked their title-winning campaign with the supporters, dancing with the fans while flares lit up the atmosphere at the East Bengal Ground.
Brief Scorecard :
Sribhumi Football Club – 0
East Bengal FC – 2 (Fazila Ikwaput 41’ pen, Sulanjala Raul 55’)
