Gokulam Kerala FC are gearing up for another challenging campaign in the Indian Women’s League (IWL) 2026-27. As the new season commences, their assistant coach Priyanka Kangralkar and captain Baby Lalchhandami express confidence in the team’s preparations and determination to compete for the title.

The new IWL season begins on November 13, with eight teams competing for the championship in a double round-robin format. The competition will run until January 23, 2027, across Kolkata, Jamshedpur and Bengaluru.

Defending champions East Bengal FC will headline the campaign, while Gokulam Kerala will look to re-establish themselves among the leading contenders after a challenging previous campaign.

The duo talks with MyKhel in an exclusive interaction, speaking about the team’s preparations and the message conveyed to the players ahead of the new season.

Priyanka embraces new IWL Season

Priyanka Kangralkar stresses the importance of learning from previous experiences and approaching every match with the right mindset. Hailing from Belgaum in Karnataka, Priyanka herself was a goalkeeper and now has been a key member of the backroom staff for Gokulam Kerala Women’s team.

“Every league, like every match, is a learning for us. So, in this season we prepared well mentally, physically. So, we are going to give a tough competition to each and every team. So, yeah, we are prepared well enough.”

The coach also compared the preparation for a new campaign to preparing for examinations, emphasising that the players must translate their mental and physical readiness into performances on the pitch.

“For a new season, it’s all about new exposure, new things. It’s all about how we prepare for exams. It’s the same like that. So, we are like, just they are mentally prepared good enough. Physically, they are good enough right now. So, it’s now, it’s on them. How they are going to play with the team. How they are going to work as a team,” she explains.

Along with that, Priyanka also clears her message to the team.

“If you are not making a mistake, you are not human. Humans make mistakes. That’s a point I tell them, to learn from that and keep improving.”

From Northeast to Kerala: Baby Lalchhandami relishing Captaincy

Meanwhile, captain Baby Lalchhandami speaks about her journey from the North East to becoming the leader of one of India’s prominent women’s football clubs. The defender admits that becoming a professional footballer was never something she had envisioned while growing up, making her current position even more special.

“I have never envisioned myself as a professional footballer, but now like thinking back, looking back, coming from a small street from North East and now finally being a captain of an Indian women’s league, it’s such a big, like a drastic change for me,” Baby says.

She also acknowledges the responsibility that comes with leadership and expressed hope that her journey would inspire young footballers from her home region.

“I think it comes with a big responsibility, which I am very much ready to take. And I think, looking at me, I think I might inspire a couple of young players who are going to come up,” she added.

Baby reveals that the recognition she receives from young footballers during visits to local leagues back home gives her additional motivation.

“There are a couple of local leagues I used to play. Whenever I go there, they ask for autographs. It feels really special when people recognize you, and they tell, ‘you are my idol, I am such a big fan.’ The recognition gives us a purpose. And that purpose is the thing that keeps us going.”

On leadership, the Gokulam Kerala captain highlights the importance of accepting mistakes rather than allowing fear to affect performances.

“What I learned from my experience so far is that mistakes are going to happen. Because they are inevitable, of course. And I think instead of being scared to make mistakes, I think we should face them head-on. Because we are going to learn from our mistakes eventually. And you never lose, you learn.”

The captain also urged Gokulam Kerala’s supporters to continue backing the team throughout the campaign, promising an exciting season ahead.