Camp to start in October: Crispin Chhetri

Bengaluru: The Indian women's team coach Crispin Chettri on Friday said preparatory camps will be held every month from October ahead of next year's AFC Women's Asian Cup, and steps have been taken to avoid them clashing with the Indian Women's League (IWL) schedule.

Indian senior women and the U20 sides have qualified for the continental showpieces in July and August early this year.

"We have already discussed with our players, coaches of clubs and with the federation also. We'll be hosting camps, and there will be a longer camp from January before the main tournament kicks off," said Chettri in a press conference organised by the AIFF here.

Chettri said the camps were not started in the immediate aftermath of the team's qualification for the marquee event, which will be held in Australia between March 1-21, 2026, because the senior women's national championship is underway. "The idea was to host a camp earlier (than October) but we also wanted to see more players in action during the current senior nationals, so that no individual is left out to represent our country," he said.