Durand Cup, the oldest football tournament in Asia which is still active, will return for its 133rd edition on 27th July. Since the last few years, the Durand Cup has served as the first national tournament of the Indian football calendar, which also has the Indian Super League and the Super Cup on its roster.
This tournament is named after Sir Mortimer Durand, who was the then Foreign Secretary in charge of India, and the first edition was played way back in 1888.
Defending champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant is the most successful team in this tournament, having won the Durand Cup a record 17 times. They are closely followed by their Kolkata rivals East Bengal, who are 16-time champions.
Border Security Force, who have not participated in the last few editions but will make a comeback this season, are third on the list with 7 titles. A total of 43 matches will be played across five venues to determine the winner.
Dates
The 2024 edition of the Durand Cup will kickstart on 27th July, with a match between holders Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Jammu & Kashmir’s Downtown Heroes, at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan.
The group stage matches will continue till 18th August, with the last group match being the highly anticipated Kolkata Derby between Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal.
While the exact dates for the knockouts will be announced only after the group stages, as has been the tradition with this competition, it has been confirmed that the final will be played on 31st August in Kolkata.
Venues
The final will be held in Kolkata’s Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan
Unlike last season, which was played in only three cities, the 2024 Durand Cup will be played in four cities – Kolkata, Jamshedpur, Shillong and Kokrajhar.
However, the number of stadiums has decreased from the previous edition. In Kolkata, matches will be held only at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan and the Kishore Bharati Krirangan, whereas East Bengal Ground and Mohun Bagan Ground also hosted matches in 2023.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will be used for the matches in Shillong, while Jamshedpur’s home ground JRD Tata Sports Complex will host matches in the Steel City. The fifth venue is Kokrajhar’s SAI Stadium, which also served as one of the hosts last season.
Teams
Like last season, a total of 24 teams will compete for the title this time as well. But having said that, there is a change in the spread of the teams according to their primary competitions.
For example, only 12 ISL teams competed last time, with Mohammedan earning promotion to the top flight, 13 of this year’s 24 teams will be from the ISL. From the second division, that is the I-League, only Inter Kashi and Shillong Lajong will play this season as opposed to the five teams of 2023.
The last edition of the Durand Cup saw three Indian Armed Forces teams competing, in Indian Air Force, Indian Army and Indian Navy. But on this occasion, the count has increased to five, with BSF and CISF Protectors also taking part.
Besides that, there will be two state league teams like last year – Downtown Heroes from Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir, and Bodoland from Kokrajhar in Bodoland Territorial Region, Assam. Similarly, the two foreign teams from last season, Bangladesh Army and Nepal’s Tribhuvan Army, will once again compete this season.
Format Explainer
Exactly like the previous editions, the 24 teams have been divided into six groups of four. Firstly let us look at the groups.
Group A (Kolkata): Mohun Bagan Super Giant, East Bengal, Indian Air Force, Downtown Heroes
Group B (Kolkata): Bengaluru, Inter Kashi, Indian Navy, Mohammedan
Group C (Kolkata): Kerala Blasters, Mumbai City, Punjab, CISF Protectors
Group D (Jamshedpur): Jamshedpur, Chennaiyin, Indian Army, Bangladesh Army
Group E (Kokrajhar): Odisha, NorthEast United, Bodoland, BSF
Group F (Shillong): Goa, Hyderabad, Shillong Lajong, Tribhuvan Army
A total of 8 of these 24 teams will qualify for the next round, that is the quarter-finals. All the 6 table-toppers from each of the six groups will be assured a place in the quarter-finals.
Now, besides the points tables of each group, a separate points table will be maintained for the six second-placed teams from every group. The top two teams in that table will also qualify for the quarter-finals, thereby completing the full quota of 8 teams. The quarter-finals will be followed by the semi-finals and the final.
Star Attractions
All eyes will be on Mohun Bagan Super Giant’s latest star recruit Jamie Maclaren
While it has been a tendency of some clubs to send their junior teams for the Durand Cup, this edition is likely to be fiercely competitive as even the ISL giants are expected to field their best team.
Talking about the defending champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant, all eyes will be on their latest recruit Jamie Maclaren. In terms of CV, not many players of Maclaren’s quality have arrived in India since the marquee days of ISL.
He is a four-time Golden Boot winner in the A-League. The striker has scored 175 goals in 280 matches, and also 11 goals in 31 matches for the Socceroos. Maclaren will not be playing from the first game, but the Mariners fans can expect to see him making a debut in the Kolkata Derby.
That being said, East Bengal will also have a trick or two up their sleeves as they have recently signed Dimitrios Diamantakos from Kerala Blasters. The Greek striker won the ISL Golden Boot last season, scoring 13 goals in just 17 matches.
From the new recruits, there are a couple of other players who should be mentioned. Bengaluru bolstered their attacking unit by signing Spanish winger Edgar Mendez, who is a graduate of Real Madrid Castilla.
A player with huge experience, having played over 400 professional matches, Mendez has played for many renowned teams in Spain like Granada and Almedia. Till only two years ago, he was playing in La Liga for Deportivo Alaves.
Another exciting Spanish signing of this season is Mumbai City’s Jon Toral. The attacking midfielder was once a part of the coveted La Masia academy of Barcelona while he has also played for the Arsenal junior team. Toral has spent most of his career in the English Championship, where he has played for the likes of Brentford, Birmingham City, and Hull City.