The 131st edition of ‘Durand Cup’ is to be played in Kolkata, Imphal and Guwahati.
There’s an increase in the number of teams and venues in this edition of the tournament. Durand Cup which was hosted by Kolkata last two years, will join Northeastern capitals Imphal and Guwahati this time.
This edition will see the participation of 20 teams. There are going to be 11 ISL teams, 5 I-League teams and 4 teams from armed forces.
All the ISL clubs will play in this tournament. Meanwhile, Gokulam Kerala, Rajasthan United, Neroca FC, TRAU FC and last year’s finalists Mohammaden Sporting will play from the I-League and four teams from the Armed forces will also join these clubs.
In the last few editions of the Durand Cup most of the ISL teams sent their reserve sides, but this time it is mandatory for all the clubs to field their strongest starting 11. This decision was made to ensure more playing time for the best players in the country. It not only gives more game time to the players but also makes the tournament more entertaining and attractive.
What makes this tournament so great?
131st edition of the Durand Cup will be played this August. ‘Durand Cup’ the premier knockout football competition in India, is one of the first football tournaments to be played in the history of the game. Durand Cup was started in the year 1888. It is the third-oldest football tournament in the history of the game after the FA CUPs of England and Scotland. It is the oldest football tournament in Asia.
This prestigious tournament was initially played among the British regiments in Kolkata. Eventually, Indian clubs started participating in the tournament. When the main administrative hub of British was shifted to Delhi. Ambedkar stadium of Delhi hosted this tournament in December. After 2015, this tournament took a halt for 4 years. In 2019 this tournament was revived and now it is being played as a pre-season tournament.
Format of the tournament
Since 2019 Durand Cup was played with 16 teams with four teams being divided into four groups each. The top two teams of each group would qualify for the quarter-finals then the tournament was concluded following the semi-finals and finals.
This edition will have 20 teams with four groups consisting of five teams. With the top 2 teams qualifying for the knockouts.
Successful teams in the competition
Two clubs with rich history Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have won this competition the greatest number of times. Both the Kolkata clubs have managed to grab silverware 16 times. The last edition of the Durand Cup saw FC Goa throning the crown.
Schedule of Indian Football Calendar
This Indian Football season will have a greater number of football games. Thanks to the addition of two knockout tournaments Durand Cup and Super Cup.
The Durand Cup will begin on August 16 and will end on September 24. Following the conclusion of the Durand Cup, 6th October will see the commencement of the brand-new season of Hero Indian Super League (ISL).
Hero ISL finals will be played on March 18th. After almost 10 days gap, Hero Super Cup will be played as the season- closer. Super Cup will start on the first of April and will end on the 14th of April.
For the first time since the commencement of Hero ISL, the Indian domestic football season will see two knockout competitions. This is going to be the first time that the Indian Football season will be nine months long.
Telecast and Streaming of the Durand Cup
Earlier Durand Cup was telecasted on the Door Darshan network. Then Star Sports telecasted this tournament in the late 90s and the early two thousand decades.
Since 2019 only Bengali streaming app addatimes have been telecasting the tournament. Star Sports and Sony Sports network telecasted from Semi-finals in 2019 and 2021 respectively.
This year also Adda Times continues its monopoly on telecasting the Durand Cup.
