Five ISL, three I-League teams to feature in 2021 Durand Cup

The tournament, now in its 130 edition was first held in Kolkata back in 2019, after moving from its longtime venue at Delhi.

Gokulam Kerala FC won the competition when it was last held in 2019.

Five Indian Super League (ISL) teams and three I-League outfits will be among the 16-teams that will take part in the 130th edition of the Durand Cup football tournament, which will be played in Kolkata at different venues from September 5 to October 3.

Counted among the world’s oldest football tournaments, the Durand Cup gets a healthy list of participants from the country’s top league. The ISL teams who have confirmed their participation include Jamshedpur FC, FC Goa, Bengaluru FC, Hyderabad FC, and Kerala Blasters. The ISL teams look to utilize the Durand Cup for pre-season preparations. They will expectedly leave out the foreigners in their rosters for a mix of age-group players and senior Indian footballers available in their squads.

Local club Mohammedan Sporting, Gokulam Kerala FC and Sudeva FC of Delhi are the three I-League clubs in the fray. FC Bengaluru United and Delhi FC are two teams from the Second Division I-League while two Indian Army teams (Red and Green), a team each from Indian Air Force, Indian Navy, CRPF and the Assam Rifles complete the list of participants. The 16 teams will be divided into four groups in the initial group league stage. The top two teams from each group will progress to the knock-out stage.