The Odisha Women's League (OWL), previously known as the FAO Women's League, is the women's top division

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

league of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. The league is among the existing top tier women's football leagues in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The league is organised every year by the apex football governing body of

, the

Football Association of Odisha Football Association of Odisha (FAO) is the state governing body of football in Odisha, India. The Odisha football team and Odisha women's football team is administrated by the Football Association of Odisha. It is affiliated with the All India ...

(FAO), in association with the Department of Sports and Youth Services (DSYS) of the Government of Odisha. It is currently contested by 6 clubs across the state. Since the inception of the Odisha Women's League, a total of four clubs have been crowned champions. East Coast Railway and Rising Students Club have won the most titles in league history, being crowned champions thrice. Chand Club,

Odisha Police The Odisha Police abbreviated as either OP or OPS, is the law enforcement agency for the state of Odisha in India. It is headquartered in Cuttack, the former capital of Odisha. The Odisha Police is headed by a Director General of Police, curren ...

, and SAI-STC have won it once.

History

Odisha Women's League was brought up as AT Group Women's Football League in the year 2011 as Odisha's premier level women's football league. The

(FAO) introduced the league system to provide a platform for women to showcase their footballing abilities. The league system eventually continued to be a hit among the footballing enthusiasts of

. Footballing talents from the FAO Women's League are recruited in the

Odisha women's football team The Odisha women's football team ( or, ଓଡ଼ିଶା ମହିଳା ଫୁଟବଲ ଟୀମ୍) is an Indian women's football team representing the state of Odisha, India. The Football Association of Odisha, a state association of All I ...

, and eventually in India women's national football team. On 27 February 2021, during the press meet and jersey launch ceremony for the 2020-21 season, the league was rechristened as ''Odisha Women's League''. The ceremony took place in the presence of Principal Secretary of Department of Sports and Youth Services, Vishal Kumar Dev, and Honorary Secretary of Football Association of Odisha (FAO) at the Kalinga Stadium.

Venues

Bhubaneswar

* Kalinga Stadium * Capital Football Arena * OSAP 7th Battalion Ground

Cuttack

Barabati Stadium The Barabati Stadium is an Indian sports stadium used mostly for cricket and association football, and also sometimes for concerts and field hockey, located in Cuttack, Odisha. It is a regular venue for international cricket and is the home gro ...

* Odisha Police Ground * Ravenshaw University Ground * Sports Hostel Ground

Clubs

Championships

Championships by team

References

{{Sports leagues of India Odisha Women's League Women's football leagues in India Football in Odisha Sports competitions in Odisha Sports leagues established in 2011 2011 establishments in Odisha