Kolkata: The inaugural season of the AIFF U17 Women’s Youth League got underway at the RKM Football Academy in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh, on Saturday, July 18, 2026.
KMP Aspire FC began the day with a commanding 6-1 win over Roots FC in Group A. Later in Group B, PFC Kerala twice came from behind to hold Kemp FC to a 2-2 draw. In the second Group A fixture, Zinc FA held off a spirited second-half comeback from DFA Raisen to seal a 3-2 victory, while Garhwal United FC edged past hosts RKM Football Academy 1-0 in a closely-contested Group B encounter.
KMP Aspire FC made the perfect start as they struck as early as the second minute when Thoudam Malemnganbi Devi capitalised on a loose ball following a corner. The side from Pune doubled the lead in the 30th minute as Yaiphabi Thokchom finished into the far corner after Sayani Chakraborty delivered a pinpoint through ball.
KMP Aspire added four more in the second half against a struggling Roots FC. Yaiphabi continued to be in the thick of things. She scored her second in the 49th minute from an Irom Deviya Chanu corner, and then assisted Sayani’s long-range effort in the 54th.
KMP Aspire continued to dominate, and in the 65th minute, Malemnganbi scored her second with a perfectly angled shot from the top of the box that flew past the helpless Roots goalkeeper Urvasi.
Roots finally got on the scoresheet in the 81st minute. Deepanshi capitalised on a rebound and scored into an empty net after goalkeeper Tanishka Deore had denied Prathiksha’s initial effort. But KMP Aspire widened the margin again two minutes later as substitute Bumi Bayor got on the end of Sayani’s pass and tapped home from edge of the box to seal a commanding 6-1 victory for her side.
Kemp FC opened the scoring in the 26th minute when Anika Joshi calmly slotted home past goalkeeper G Aradhana following a corner. But PFC Kerala hit back just four minutes later through Dharshika. Rithika Shyju intercepted a poor pass from goalkeeper R Vishnu Priya before setting up Dharshika, who fired it into the bottom corner.
It remained a tight affair locked at 1-1 until the 79th minute when Trisha Iyer put Kemp in the lead again. Amid a scramble right outside the PFC Kerala box among defenders Mary Franzita and Meenakshi, Trisha seized the loose ball, darted inside the area and finished into the right corner.
Refusing to give in, PFC Kerala found another equaliser in the 89th minute. A long ball forward was chased down by Dharshika, who raced clear and slotted the ball past an advancing Vishnu Priya to secure a brace and a deserved point for her side as the match ended 2-2.
Zinc FA dominated the first half entirely, taking the lead just six minutes into the game through Joha Khan. Dangi Mardi surged down the left to deliver a cross for Joha, who made no mistake to tap it home from close-range.
Zinc’s relentless pressure continued to bear fruit as captain Antara Dolui doubled their lead in the 28th minute. Raisen goalkeeper Saloni Sharma failed to deal with a cross from the right before Antara pounced on the loose ball to push it home. Five minutes before the half-time whistle, Antara secured her brace. The skipper weaved elegantly past a sea of Raisen defenders before calmly sweeping it beyond Saloni to hand the Rajasthan side a commanding 3-0 cushion at the break.
Raisen came back stronger after the interval. In the 52nd minute, Manju Kanwar latched onto a long pass, raced past two Zinc defenders, Manisha Patel and Nidhu, before firing a low shot into the bottom right corner. Manju struck again in the 83rd minute, combining neatly with Kumari Komal, before receiving the return pass and finishing from close range.
Despite the late pressure from the Madhya Pradesh side, Zinc FA held firm to secure the three points with a 3-2 victory.
Garhwal United FC made an attacking start, but RKM FA goalkeeper Yogita produced a string of fine saves to keep the hosts in the game early on. The visitors threatened early on as Anishka Ghughtyal’s long-range effort in the fifth minute was gathered comfortably before Sunaina’s close-range attempt three minutes later was denied by Yogita.
At the other end, the hosts came close, but Jyoti Nag’s intended pass into the box for Naveena was intercepted by Garhwal defender Tushti Bhatia. While Sunaina and Gurleen Kaur continued to threaten in waves, RKM’s defence stood firm as the teams headed into the break goalless.
As both sides continued their search for a breakthrough, the rain-soaked pitch intensified the midfield battle. Within 10 minutes of the restart, RKM FA threatened through Amritha Baghel and Naveena Mourya. But Garhwal goalkeeper Yashika was equal to the challenge. Between the other pair of posts, Yogita continued her impressive performance by denying Khushi from close range after a Gurleen cross.
The decisive moment arrived for Garhwal in the 70th minute when Japleen Kaur powered a header into the net after meeting Sunaina’s curling corner from the left. It turned out to be the only goal of the match as Garhwal United FC held the lead until full time, sealing a hard-fought 1-0 victory.
