New Delhi: The Super Cup, India’s premier knock-out football tournament and which also offers a spot in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League 2, is set to adopt a new format in the 2024-25 season, similar to England’s FA Cup.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) in its calendar for the upcoming season has slotted the Super Cup in the October 1, 2024 to May 15, 2025 window.
The Super Cup, which replaced the country’s top knock-out tournament Federation Cup in 2018, normally has a duration of less than a month.
“The AIFF wants the Super Cup in Football Association (FA) Cup Cup (of England) style from this season. That is why it has a window of more than seven months,” an AIFF source told PTI.
The Super Cup will run almost concurrently with the top-tier Indian Super League (ISL) and the second tier I-League in the 2024-25 season.
The FA Cup is open to all clubs from 10 tiers of the footballing pyramid in England, including the Premier League (PL) sides.
The competition starts with qualifying rounds featuring the lower division teams, with the higher ranked clubs slotting in at the advanced stages based on league hierarchy.
The Super Cup, organised by the AIFF, is open to all ISL and I-League clubs, the top two division of the domestic league system.
The last Super Cup was held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, in January, with 16 clubs competing in the group stage.