East Bengal, who have a star-studded squad and a coach who is familiar with the league’s winning formula, will be in contention for the title when they host Kickstart FC in the opening match of the 2024-25 Indian Women’s League on Friday.
Anthony Andrews will coach the Kolkata-based side, which first entered the competition two seasons ago after a successful spell with Kerala FC. The coach led Gokulam to two IWL league titles.
But the most eye-catching thing is the lineup of the Red and Gold Brigade. The team is captained by Sweety Devi and has experienced players like Anju Tamang, Ashalata Devi, Sandhiya Ranganathan, and other Indian international players.
The team has also introduced explosive foreign players in the offense, such as Ghana’s Elshaddai Acheampong, who is the IWL top scorer for the Gokulam Kerala national team, scoring 20 goals. Andrews was the coach at the time.
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“Joining East Bengal is a dream come true. This is one of the biggest opportunities of my career. I have won two IWL titles with Gokulam in the past. I want to replicate the same success with East Bengal,” said the club, who signed a contract with the club. Andrews, who is on a two-year contract, said this on the eve of East Bengal’s match against Kickstart FC.
“We have been training together for more than a month and we hope to make a big leap forward in the IWL this season. This will be a very crucial season for our women’s team as we hope to win the IWL championship and build a strong presence in the women’s football field status,” he added.
As for Kickstart FC, it has players such as Dalima Chhibber and Dangmei Grace. A force to be reckoned with in the Karnataka Women’s League, the team finished third last season.
“We have a few days to prepare as a team due to the National Senior Championship and the national team’s friendly match against the Maldives. But they are all experienced players and we are ready to grab the three points. We have brought in some experienced players this season Players, including Sanju, Dangmei Grace and some young players, no one has been injured so far,” said head coach Chaoba Devi. sports star.
India defender Dalima will be playing for her second season with the Karnataka side and she seemed upbeat and positive about the team’s performance ahead of the new season. “The experience of the team has increased this season. We have young players and a lot of experienced players. Even the young players from last year’s Kickstart had a chance to be selected for the national team. So, going into this season, we are a team made up of young but experienced players. A team of players.”
The match between East Bengal and Kickstart FC will kick off on Friday at 2:30 pm (IST) at the East Bengal Stadium.
East Bengal complete squad for Indian Women’s League 2024-25
Goalkeepers: Pantoy Chanu, Melody Chanu
Defenders: Sweety Devi, Sushmita Lepcha, Sonali Chemet, Sarita Umnam, Michelle Castagna, Asharata Devi , Trisha Malik
Midfielders: Anju Tamang, Cindy Kearney, Debrina Bhattacharya, Kartika Angamuthu, Maureen Achin (Kenya), Priyanka De Vi, Priyanka Surgish, Sati Debnath, Soumya Gurgulos, Thandamoni Basiji, Titli Sarkar
Forwards: Elshaddai Acheampong (Ghana), Resty Nanziri (Uganda), Sandhiya Ranganathan, Sulanjana Raul
