HOPS FC win IWL 2 2025-26 title; Juba Sangha FC earn promotion
Synopsis
HOPS FC stormed to the IWL 2 2025-26 title without conceding a single goal in the Final Round — nine wins, zero defeats, and a triumphant return to India's top flight after last season's relegation. Juba Sangha FC, the tournament's highest scorers with 15 Final Round goals, earn their first-ever IWL berth, putting two Delhi clubs on the map of Indian women's football.
Key Takeaways
HOPS FC won the IWL 2 2025-26 title with nine wins overall and a perfect 15 points in the Final Round, conceding zero goals in that stage.
Juba Sangha FC finished second with 12 points and earned their first-ever promotion to the Indian Women's League for 2026-27 .
Juba Sangha were the Final Round's top scorers with 15 goals ; HOPS scored eight while keeping a clean sheet throughout.
Simran Gurung (Krida Prabodhini Pune) was the tournament's top scorer with nine goals .
HOPS become the second Delhi-based club to win the IWL 2, returning to the top flight after last season's relegation.
The Final Round was held as a single-leg round-robin at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence , Bengaluru .
HOPS FC clinched the Indian Women's League 2 (IWL 2) 2025-26 title with a flawless campaign, finishing the Final Round with five wins and a perfect 15 points at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru. Juba Sangha FC, also from Delhi, finished second and secured promotion to the Indian Women's League (IWL) for the 2026-27 season.
HOPS FC: A Perfect Run to the Title
HOPS FC were dominant throughout the six-team single-leg round-robin Final Round, scoring eight goals and conceding none. Their campaign in the final stage opened with a 3-0 demolition of Krida Prabodhini Pune, followed by a 2-0 win over Mumbai Knights FC. Three successive 1-0 victories — against Suruchi Sangha, Kemp FC, and finally Juba Sangha — sealed the championship. HOPS had also topped their group with four straight wins to reach the final stage, finishing the season with nine wins overall. This is HOPS FC's first IWL 2 title and marks their return to India's top tier of women's football after suffering relegation last season.
Juba Sangha FC: Historic First Promotion
Juba Sangha FC ended the Final Round with 12 points, winning four of five matches. They were the highest-scoring side in the final stage, netting 15 goals, including a 5-2 rout of Krida Prabodhini Pune and a 3-1 win over Kemp FC. Their only defeat came against HOPS in the decisive final-round fixture. This marks Juba Sangha's first-ever promotion to the Indian Women's League.
Final Round Standings
Kemp FC finished third with nine points from three wins. Krida Prabodhini Pune took fourth with six points. Mumbai Knights FC ended fifth with three points, while Suruchi Sangha closed the Final Round without a single point.
Top Scorers and Individual Honours
Krida Prabodhini's Simran Gurung was the tournament's top scorer with nine goals. Her teammate Sumaiyya Shaikh finished joint-second on seven goals, alongside Roshni Tigga of Suruchi Sangha and Vipanshi of Juba Sangha. Juba Sangha's Nidhi contributed six goals, while Bhagyashree Dalvi of Mumbai Knights and Maidangshri Narzary of Karbi Anglong Sports Association Girls Football Club (KASA FC) each scored five. Khushbu Saroj of Kemp and Juba Sangha's Kiran each netted four goals.
IWL 2: Growing as Women's Football's Second Tier
Launched in the 2023-24 season, the IWL 2 serves as the second division of women's club football in India, with the top two finishers earning promotion to the IWL each year. Sribhumi FC were the inaugural champions in 2023-24, and Garhwal United FC claimed the title last season. With this win, HOPS FC become the second Delhi-based club to lift the IWL 2 trophy, underlining the capital's growing footprint in Indian women's football. Both promoted clubs will now compete at the country's highest level in 2026-27.
Point of View
Returning to the IWL just one season after relegation with a campaign that conceded nothing in the Final Round. That defensive discipline, paired with Juba Sangha's 15-goal attacking blitz, signals that Delhi is quietly becoming a power centre in Indian women's club football. The IWL 2, now in its third season, is doing exactly what a second division should: surfacing competitive clubs and creating genuine promotion drama. The question going forward is whether the All India Football Federation can sustain the league's growth with consistent infrastructure and broadcast visibility — without that, the individual brilliance of scorers like Simran Gurung will remain largely invisible to the wider sporting public.
NationPress
11 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the IWL 2 2025-26 title?
HOPS FC won the Indian Women's League 2 (IWL 2) 2025-26 title, finishing the Final Round with five wins and 15 points without conceding a single goal. It is the club's first IWL 2 championship and marks their return to the top flight after last season's relegation.
Which team earned promotion to the IWL for 2026-27?
Juba Sangha FC earned promotion to the Indian Women's League for the 2026-27 season by finishing second in the IWL 2 Final Round with 12 points. This is Juba Sangha's first-ever promotion to India's top division of women's football.
Who was the top scorer of IWL 2 2025-26?
Simran Gurung of Krida Prabodhini Pune was the tournament's top scorer with nine goals. Her teammate Sumaiyya Shaikh, Roshni Tigga of Suruchi Sangha, and Vipanshi of Juba Sangha each finished joint-second with seven goals.
Where was the IWL 2 Final Round held?
The six-team Final Round was staged as a single-leg round-robin at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence in Bengaluru. HOPS FC topped the standings with a perfect record of five wins.
What is the IWL 2 and how does promotion work?
The Indian Women's League 2 (IWL 2), launched in the 2023-24 season, is the second division of women's club football in India. The top two teams at the end of each season earn automatic promotion to the Indian Women's League, the country's premier women's club competition.
