After a four-year break, the Super Cup is back as India’s top football clubs prepare for a second cup tournament to round out the season, which began in August with the Durand Cup.
The tournament is going to begin on April 3, with Rajasthan United facing NEROCA in a first qualifying round fixture. The final is scheduled for April 25.
The tournament has only been held twice before, in 2018 and 2019. In the inaugural season, Bengaluru FC became the winners, defeating East Bengal 4-1 in the final in Bhubaneswar. The following year, FC Goa beat Chennaiyin FC 2-1 in the final.
The 11 ISL clubs and I-League champions RoundGlass Punjab have a direct entry into the group stages, where they will be joined by four other teams from the nine I-League clubs in the fray. The I-League’s bottom two clubs, Kenkre FC and Sudeva Delhi, will not compete in the Super Cup.
This year’s tournament will be held in Kerala, but the Kerala Blasters’ home in Kochi will not be hosting any games. The EMS Stadium in Kozhikode and the Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri will play host to the 21 teams in the fray.
After everything that went on at the Kanteerava in that infamous ISL knockout fixture (you know, the walkout, the subsequent fine for the Blasters and the ban for Ivan Vukomanovic), you can imagine that there won’t be a hearty welcome for the Sunil Chhetri-led side in Kerala.
Additionally, Bengaluru and the Blasters are drawn in a group with I-League champions RoundGlass Punjab and could be joined by I-League runners-up Sreenidhi Deccan, so that is a group to keep a keen eye on.
As per the norm in the ISL, the teams can register six foreign players in their squads (including one Asian), with any four of them allowed to be in the pitch at any given time.
The teams are expected to pick full-strength squads for the Super Cup, but there are some important absentees as well.
Kerala Blasters will be without their talismanic attacker Adrian Luna, who has been granted permission to skip the tournament. Bengaluru will be without Brazilian defender Alan Costa, who has returned to his homeland following the expiry of his loan deal.