Football: Indian Women’s League Scheduled in Odisha Postponed due to COVID-19 Surge

The Indian Women’s League, scheduled to be held in Odisha later this month, was on Tuesday, postponed indefinitely in view of the rising COVID-19 cases in the state, the All India Football Federation said. The AIFF said it will take a decision on the fate of the tournament at a later date. Earlier, the AIFF had said that the tournament would have to be held in May at the latest.

“The Hero Indian Women’s League scheduled to be held in Odisha later this month has been postponed until further notice,” the AIFF said in a release. The AIFF said the decision was taken after discussion with Odisha Sports over the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state while also keeping in mind the safety and security of the players and officials.”

“The AIFF along with Odisha Sports and the participating teams will be taking a stock of the situation once the health parameters improve,” it said. The development came three days after the AIFF announced the postponement of the play-off matches of the same tournament. The play-off matches were earlier scheduled to start in the national capital from Wednesday.

COVID-19 cases in Odisha have been on the rise with more than 500 cases on Monday and Tuesday. The state reported 588 new cases on Tuesday after 573 infections on Monday.