Last Updated: November 29, 2023, 17:53 IST
Kalinga Super Cup. (Twitter)
I-League groups will play a qualifier with 4 slots obtainable to affix all 11 Indian Super League sides in the group stage of the Kalinga Super Cup.
The Kalinga Super Cup can be organised in Odisha ranging from January 9, 2024, the All India Football Federation introduced on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. The matches are deliberate to be held in two totally different venues in Odisha.
Both Indian Super League and I-League groups have been invited to participate in the annual match. The format of the match will consist of 4 teams of 4 groups every, who will play single-leg matches amongst themselves. The group winners will qualify for the semi-finals adopted by the remaining to be performed on January 28, 2024.
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The Super Cup match was initiated by the AIFF as a alternative for the Federation Cup, with the first version being held in 2018. Bengaluru FC received the inaugural version as FC Goa had been topped champions in 2019. Both the editions had been held in Bhubaneswar.
From 2020 to 2022, Super Cup was not performed resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic as Odisha FC emerged winners in the 2023 version.
This can be the first version of the match that can be held throughout the season, with all earlier editions being held after the finish of the common season.
The I-League groups will play the qualifiers to get into the group stage of Kalinga Super Cup the place 4 slots have been reserved for them in the group stage.
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The Champions of Kalinga Super Cup can be nominated to play in the ACL 2 Preliminary Stage of the AFC 2023-24 season.
AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey mentioned, “As per the decision we took earlier, the annual Super Cup tournament will now be organised in a bigger and broader perspective. The tournament will now be known as the Kalinga Super Cup and will be played in Odisha in January 2024. This is a positive development for Indian domestic football. I am confident the Kalinga Super Cup will be a huge hit both in terms of organisation and spectator interest.”
