MUMBAI, May 5 -- Over the last two seasons, the Indian Women's League (IWL) has seen an expanded format with more teams, a longer calendar and new clubs entering the professional space in women's football. Mumbai, however, stares at a large void. No team from India's "maximum city" featured in the IWL 2024-25 season or the previous one. Reasons, according to those associated with women's the game, range from systemic barriers, administrative apathy and lack of planning in the development of women's football. Anjali Shah, owner of Premier India Football Academy (PIFA) and chairperson of women's football in the Mumbai Football Association (MFA), does not mince her words. "I lay the blame squarely on the associations," she said. "There's no seriousness or fairness." Despite fielding over 105 girls across four teams - U-14, U-17, Women's Super and Elite divisions - PIFA couldn't make it to top-tier IWL this year. According to Shah, the qualification process was opaque. "There was no clear pathway," she said. "Two teams were simply recommended for IWL based on last year's standings. No inter-district tournaments or trials were held." While previous IWL editions featured teams like Mumbai Knights, PIFA Sports Colaba and Kenkre FC women who even made the semi-finals in 2019-20, the last two years have seen a noticeable absence. Poor planning also continues to plague women's tournaments in Mumbai. Matches are often scheduled during monsoon seasons, played on flooded astro-turf grounds, or squeezed at 3 pm in 40-degree heat because women's leagues get the last slots for ground bookings. "It's not just inefficient, it's unfair and discriminatory," Shah said. This has created a cascading effect: fewer competitive matches, limited scouting opportunities, and an environment where talented players either drop out or move to other cities for better prospects. Shah shares the story of Payal Basude, a former PIFA goalkeeper who was picked up by Odisha FC after being spotted during an earlier IWL season. Today, she is on standby for the national team, but her success story unfolded only after she left Mumbai. "This is one of the many examples of the talent drain in the city," Shah said. Karen Pais, who has played for both PIFA and Mumbai Knights and now represents Kickstart FC in Bengaluru, concurs. "I've been playing for more than 10 years, and I know the kind of talent Mumbai and Maharashtra have. But with last-minute camps and haphazard preparations, the state and district body are doing nothing to nurture that talent," she said. Afreen Peerbhoy, 25, too moved outside Mumbai, citing better access to training grounds, facilities, and structured competitions. "In Mumbai, there's barely any access to proper 11-a-side grounds or quality training facilities," she said. Kenkre FC's CEO, Joshua Lewis, has been building the women's game from the grassroots level in Mumbai for over a decade. He believes that despite the enthusiasm from clubs, they remain shackled by an ecosystem where the MFA and WIFA have failed to build a consistent roadmap for women's football. "We're not lacking in players or passion, we're lacking structure," Lewis said. "You run a district league for three weeks, and then there's nothing for eight months. There's no developmental ladder and no clear progression for players." Contrast it with Bengaluru, where that progression is well drawn out. "From July to April, we had six-and-a-half months of regular matches in Bengaluru," Pais said. "In Mumbai, you're lucky to get one month."...