The India Women’s League (IWL) clubs have raised a complaint with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) over the sudden change of schedule after the games have been moved from late evenings to the mornings.
This concern is due to extreme weather conditions in Bhubaneswar as the evening games protected the players from the worst of the heat, which they will now be exposed to.
The authorities informed clubs at the start of the week hat matches earlier scheduled for 7.30 PM kickoffs at the Kalinga Stadium have been rescheduled to 8.30 AM kickoffs (starting from Saturday, May 21).
Indian Women’s League: Clubs unhappy with sudden shift to morning fixtures#indianfootball https://t.co/R35pPlFsvq
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This has not gone down well with both the players and the coaches, who have complained about the kickoff timings especially with players unlikely to have breakfast that early ahead of a match. Clubs have already been training during 8.30 am – 9.30 am slots and they have been finding it tough going.
As per ESPN, the clubs raised a formal complaint with the AIFF asking for a change in timings, though they have been told that nothing can be done and that the grounds are now unavailable for evening matches (even though the fixture list had been released quite a while back), and that they cannot start matches before 8.30 AM due to broadcast obligations.
This upcoming week is the last of the month-long IWL, with the last match being played on 26 May.
