4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jan 30, 2026 11:10 PM IST
The 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup offers a pathway to the Women’s World Cup, but Amelia Valverde knows that for India, success won’t be quantified just by the scoreline.
The 39-year-old Costa Rican, appointed as India’s women’s head coach earlier this month, has seen firsthand what qualifying for two World Cups did for the sport in her own country.
Costa Rica played its first women’s international match on April 16, 1991, when Valverde was just four years old. About 23 years later, she coached Costa Rica to its first-ever Women’s World Cup appearance, and in 2023, led them to the tournament again.
“If the girls go and do well in the Women’s Asian Cup, everything will be different for women’s football in India,” Valverde told The Indian Express from Turkey, where the team is training ahead of the tournament. The Women’s Asian Cup will be held in Australia from March 1. India are scheduled to travel to Perth on February 10 for additional friendly matches before playing their opening match against Vietnam on March 4
Although Valverde has taken charge of the team, she has yet to set foot in India and might not do so until after India’s Asian Cup campaign. “I am here in Turkey with the girls. I haven’t been to India yet. I have done five sessions and a couple of friendly matches,” she said.
While men’s football in India has struggled in the last couple of years amid court battles, boardroom disputes, and fractured league structure, the women’s team has quietly made history by qualifying for the Asian Cup via the qualification route for the first time. Ranked 70th in the world, India stunned 46th-placed Thailand to earn their spot.
Valverde believes the team is aiming for more than tangible results. “It is history,” she said of India’s qualification. “I know football in India has had a difficult year, but that is not the story of this team. In July, I saw a brave team, a team that wanted to make history for this country — and they did. Now they have an opportunity to make history again, not just with results.
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“All of you talk about World Cup qualification, but it is more than that. These players are doing something different for the women of their country. That is very important. I have been working with them for about a week, and as I said, this team has something special.”
Yet the team is not immune to the AIFF’s unusual ways. Valverde’s appointment was announced on January 20, less than two months before India’s opening match against Vietnam.
“We have just over a month to prepare for the tournament. We have to do the best work in this time. We can’t control that we didn’t start earlier, but we can control what we do each day from here. I found the team wants to work hard and prepare as well as possible,” she said.
This season, the Indian Women’s League (IWL) has been divided into two phases. The current national camp and the Asian Cup campaign fall in the break before the second phase. In total, the season will consist of just 27 matches. For comparison, each team plays 22 matches in England’s Women’s Super League each season.
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Valverde believes a strong performance in Australia could have far-reaching effects. “Everybody wants results, but it is more than that. Now, many young girls are looking up to them, and the country must be smart about this. The league will improve, and more women need to play football,” she said. “Absolutely, one of our targets is World Cup qualification, but it’s more than that. We will do our best in this month of preparation, take a luggage full of dreams to Australia, and see what happens.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
