The Super Cup is an annual football competition and the premier cup competition in men's domestic football in India. It was founded on February 19, 2018 as a replacement for Federation Cup.[1] Organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF),[2] the competition is open to all clubs in the Indian Super League and the I-League, the top two division of the Indian football league system respectively.
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| Organising body | AIFF |
|---|---|
| Founded | February 19, 2018 (succeeded the Federation Cup) |
| Region | India |
| Number of teams | 26 |
| Qualifier for | AFC Champions League Two |
| Current champions | East Bengal (1st title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Bengaluru Goa Odisha East Bengal (1 title each) |
| Television broadcasters | JioCinema
|
| Website | Super Cup |
 2024–25 Indian Super Cup | |
History
editOn 19 February 2018, the All India Football Federation announced the creation of the Super Cup as a reformed Federation Cup, India's main knockout football tournament.[3][1] The qualifiers for the inaugural recherished tournament were held between 15–16 March. The tournament proper then commenced on 31 March and concluded with the final on 20 April 2018.[3] Bengaluru emerged as the winners of the inaugural edition of the recherished tournament. They defeated East Bengal 4–1 in the final.[4]
In the second edition, seven I-League clubs, namely Minerva Punjab, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, NEROCA, Gokulam Kerala, Aizwal and Churchill Brothers withdrew from the competition citing "unfair treatment to I-League clubs by the AIFF."[5]
From 2020 to 2022, the competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
From the 2024 season onwards the Super Cup is renamed as the Kalinga Super Cup. Inaugural edition was played between 9 and 28 January.[6]
Competition format
editUntil 2019, the competition proper was a 16-team knockout tournament. In the event of a match being drawn after the completion of 90 minutes after the group stage, extra time was played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if required.
In 2024, the competition comprised 16 clubs in group stage. All clubs in the top tier Indian Super League entered the group stage, and I-League clubs played qualifiers for the four remaining spots. During the group stage, clubs were divided into four groups of four, playing against each other in a single round-robin format. At the end of the group stage, the team with the most points qualified to the semi-finals. The competition then culminated with the final to determine the champions, presented with the trophy and a spot in the AFC Champions League Two qualifiers.
Winners
editSuper Cup finals
edit| Season | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Venue | Top scorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Bengaluru | 4–1 | East Bengal | Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar |  Sunil Chhetri (6)
|
| 2019 | Goa | 2–1 | Chennaiyin | Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar |  Coro (5)
|
| 2020–2022 | Tournament suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Indian National Team's international fixtures | ||||
| 2023 | Odisha | 2–1 | Bengaluru | EMS Stadium, Kozhikode |  Wilmar Jordán (7)
|
| 2024 | East Bengal | 3–2 | Odisha | Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar |  Cleiton Silva (5)
|
Performance by club
edit| Club | Wins | Runners-up | Winning years | Total finals appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru | 1 | 1 | 2018 | 2 |
| Odisha | 1 | 1 | 2023 | 2 |
| East Bengal | 1 | 1 | 2024 | 2 |
| Goa | 1 | 0 | 2019 | 1 |
List of winning coaches
edit| Season | Winning Head coach | Club | Runner-up Head coach | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Albert Roca
|
Bengaluru | Khalid Jamil
|
East Bengal |
| 2019 | Sergio Lobera
|
Goa |  John Gregory
|
Chennaiyin |
| 2023 | Clifford Miranda
|
Odisha | Simon Grayson
|
Bengaluru |
| 2024 | Carles Cuadrat
|
East Bengal | Sergio Lobera
|
Odisha |
Top scorers
edit| Rank | Player | Goals | Apps | Years | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunil Chhetri
|
9 | 10 | 2018–2023 | Bengaluru |
| 2 | Wilmar Jordán
|
8 | 7 | 2023–2024 | NorthEast United, Punjab |
| Diego Maurício
|
8 | 10 | 2023–2024 | Odisha | |
| 4 | Coro
|
7 | 7 | 2018–2019 | Goa |
| Nandhakumar Sekar
|
7 | 14 | 2023–2024 | Odisha, East Bengal | |
| 6 |  Ansumana Kromah
|
6 | 8 | 2018–2023 | East Bengal, Churchill Brothers |
| 7 |  Miku
|
5 | 5 | 2018–2019 | Bengaluru |
 Dimitrios Diamantakos
|
5 | 6 | 2023–2024 | Kerala Blasters | |
| Cleiton Silva
|
5 | 8 | 2023–2024 | East Bengal |
Sponsorship and media coverage
editSponsorship
editThe title sponsor for the Super Cup was Hero MotoCorp until the 2023 edition.[7] Hero MotoCorp was also the title sponsor for the Indian Super League and I-League, the leagues which comprise Super Cup participants.[8][9] The next title sponsor was the Government of Odisha with the tournament being known as Kalinga Super Cup.[10][11]
| Period | Sponsor | Tournament |
|---|---|---|
| 2018–2023 | Hero MotoCorp
|
Hero Super Cup |
| 2023–2024 | Government of Odisha and Odisha Tourism
|
Kalinga Super Cup |
Media coverage
editStar Sports was the official broadcaster for the AIFF Super Cup, with all matches being broadcast on the channel, and Disney+ Hotstar was the official online streaming partner of the tournament.[12] Since 2023, Sony Sports and FanCode became the official media partners.
| Period | Broadcaster | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 2018–2019 | Star Sports | India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka |
| Fox Sports | Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam | |
| ATN Channel | Canada | |
| ESPN+ | United States of America | |
| OSN Sports | Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen | |
| Star Gold UK | England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales | |
| SuperSport | South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa | |
| Eurosport | Europe | |
| ESPN Africa | Parts of Africa | |
| 2023 | Sony Sports Network | India |
| Period | Broadcaster | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 2018–2019 | Disney+ Hotstar | Worldwide |
| 2023 | FanCode | India |
| 2024– | JioCinema | India |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Indian football calendar for 2024-25 season announced". Khel Now. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ "Hero Super Cup". the-aiff.com. AIFF.
- ^ a b Saharoy, Shilarze (12 March 2018). "Chennaiyin to face Aizawl in Super Cup on March 31". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- ^ "Chhetri scores a brace as Bengaluru FC thrash East Bengal 4–1 to win title". Scroll.in. 20 April 2018. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ "Super Cup: Minerva Punjab miss pre-match conference, meeting; AIFF terms it 'blatant disregard'". 14 March 2019. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- ^ Sportstar, Team (29 November 2023). "Super Cup 2024 renamed as Kalinga Super Cup with winner earning AFC Cup qualification". Sportstar. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
- ^ "East Bengal seal semi-final berth in Hero Super Cup". Business Standard. 8 April 2018. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ "Four teams, one shot at glory: Here are the scenarios for the I-League title race ahead of final day". Scroll.in. 6 March 2018. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ "Indian Super League (ISL) 2017–18: Full Schedule, match-time and results". The Times of India. 17 November 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- ^ "Kalinga Super Cup will kick off in Odisha from January 9, 2024". the-aiff.com. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ^ "Odisha's rise as a shining example for sports infra". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ "Super Cup 2018: NEROCA FC v Kerala Blasters FC – TV channel, stream, kick-off time & match preview". Yahoo Sports. 5 April 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.