About The Event
A symbol of India’s football history and culture, the Durand Cup is Asia’s oldest and the world’s third-oldest football tournament, held mostly between top Indian football clubs across divisions. Organized by the Indian Armed Forces, the Durand Cup has been the breeding ground for India’s best footballing talent, over the years. Sunil Chetri, a living Indian footballing legend, was among those to have been first spotted at the Durand Cup.
The inaugural edition happened in Shimla in 1888, when it started off as an Army Cup, open only to the British Indian Army troops in India, but soon opened up to civilian teams. Named after its founder, Sir Mortimer Durand, Foreign Secretary of British India from 1884 to 1894, the iconic tournament has now reached its 132nd edition. While Mohammedan Sporting was the first Indian winner of the Durand Cup in 1940, Mohun Bagan and East Bengal have been the most successful teams, winning the tournament 16 times each.
The winner gets their hands on three Durand Trophies, which is also unique to the tournament. The Durand Cup (a rolling trophy and the original prize), the Shimla Trophy (also a rolling trophy, first given by the resident of Shimla in 1904) and the President's Cup (for permanent keep and first presented by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, India's first President, in 1956).
Bengaluru FC, led by Sunil Chetri, won the 131st Durand Cup edition in 2022, defeating Mumbai City FC 2-1 in the final last year. It was the talisman’s first-ever Durand Cup win.
The 132nd Durand Cup 2023, will see 24 teams participate, including all 12 Indian Super League (ISL) teams, the top division of Indian football. The teams have been divided into six groups, with Group A, B and C, playing their group games in four Kolkata venues. A majority of the Group D and E games have been scheduled in Guwahati while Kokrajhar, the newest Durand host city, will host games of Group F. Two group games, one each from Group D and E, have also been scheduled in Kokrajhar, which along with Guwahati, will also host one quarter-final game each.
The rest of the knockout games, including the semi-finals and final, will be played at Kolkata’s Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK), which has been hosting the Durand final since 2019.
The 132nd edition will also see a host of popular derbies being played out, none more exciting than the famous Kolkata derby between Mohun Bagan Super Giants and Emami East Bengal, which is scheduled for August 12, 2023, at the VYBK. A day later the Kerala derby features a clash between ISl side Kerala Blasters and Gokulam Kerala in the same city.
