With an aim to have a professional women’s team from Odisha, one of the major hotbeds of Indian women’s football, Odisha FC club brought in an experienced football administrator, Randeep Baruah, as their Head of Academy & Women’s Football, to structure the women's football department. In 2022, on the holy occasion of Ratha Yatra, the Indian Super League (ISL) club Odisha FC announced the launch of their senior women's team. On the same day, the club announced the appointment of AFC A-Licensed coach and former player, Crispin Chettri, as team's first Head Coach.[6][8][9][10]
Odisha FC Women kicked-off their professional football journey with participating in the 2022–23 Odisha Women's League, the top division women's football league of Odisha. Odisha played their first ever match on 27 November 2022, with a 1–0 win against East Coast Railway at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. The club went on to win their first regional siverware with winning the Odisha Women's League title with a perfect record of with 10 wins from 10 games, to qualify for the 2022–23 Indian Women's League. Pyari Xaxa ended up as the top scorer for the side with 11 goals in 10 games.[11][12]
In the 2022-23 Indian Women's League season, Odisha finished third in the group stage of the competition, qualifying for the knockout stage with a total of 16 points with 5 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. Odisha faced defending champions Gokulam Kerala in the quarter-finals, which ended up 1-1 at the end of regular time, however, Odisha 3-0 on penalties, bowing out of the league. Despite ending up on the losing side in the quarter-final, Odisha directly qualified for the 2023–24 Indian Women's League season, as direct qualification was awarded to teams which qualified for the knockout round and finished in the top eight positions in the 2022–23 season.[13][14]
The wheel engraved on the walls of the Konark Sun Temple. The temple is designed as a chariot consisting of 24 such wheels. Each wheel has a diameter of 9 feet, 9 inches, with 8 spokes.
On 15 September 2019, Odisha unveiled their official logo embodying the heritage and the culture of the state of Odisha and the vision and the ideology of its parent company, GMS Inc.[19] The design for the crest is inspired from the Chakras or the chariot wheels of the famous Konark Sun Temple, a World Heritage Site in Odisha which represents movement and development; the ship design represents GMS, the world's largest buyer of ships and offshore assets, and the owner of the club.[2][19]
Odisha FC had immediately grown its popularity post its inception which resulted in the formation of its supporters group, known as The Juggernauts.[22][23][24] The name of the group is derived from Jagannātha i.e. the "world-lord", combining jagata ("world") and natha ("lord"). Juggernaut is defined as a large powerful force or organization that cannot be stopped.[25] After the club entered into a 3-year technical affiliation with the Premier League side Watford, the Juggernauts became the first Indian football supporters' group to get into an international alliance with supporters' group of a foreign club on September 3. They partnered with Watford's largest supporters' group, i.e. The 1881 Movement, for a cross-cultural fan exchange programme.[26][27]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Pyari Xaxa
Jennifer Kankam Yeboah
Rohan Sharma[10]
Raj Athwal[10]
Lion City Sailors
Etihad Club
Urawa Red Diamonds
Hồ Chí Minh City
Taichung Blue Whale
