Super Cup 2023 football returns after four years

After being cancelled for the last three years due to COVID-19, the third edition of India’s Super Cup will now be held in April this year, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced Tuesday. Kerala will host the tournament.

While the qualifiers for the main draw will kick off on April 3, the group stages of the Super Cup 2023 will start on April 8. The final is expected to be played on April 25.

The Super Cup is India’s premier football competition for clubs. The 2023 edition carries more significance than the previous two editions as it also offers a spot in the AFC Cup 2023-24, which is the second-tier competition for Asian clubs after the AFC Champions League.

Eleven teams from the top-tier Indian Super League (ISL) along with the I-League 2022-23 champions will get direct entry into the 16-team tournament. The remaining four spots will be available from the qualifiers, which will be played by the teams ranked second to 10th in the I-League.

The Super Cup winner will take on I-League 2021-22 champions Gokulam Kerala in an additional playoff for a place in AFC Cup 2023-24. If Gokulam Kerala qualifies for the Super Cup 2023 and wins the tournament, they will automatically qualify for the AFC Cup 2023-24 without playing the final playoff.

The winners from each of the four Super Cup groups, comprising four teams each, will qualify for the semi-finals.

FC Goa emerged champions in the previous edition in 2019, beating Chennaiyin FC 2-1 in the final at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium. The inaugural edition in 2018 was won by Bengaluru FC, who beat East Bengal 4-1 in the summit clash.