The Indian men’s national football team has broken into the top 100 of the FIFA rankings after five years and is enjoying a purple patch under head coach Igor Stimac.
The Blue Tigers, until August 2023, have won three international trophies, including the SAFF Championship, beating Kuwait in the final. After the end of that international window, the domestic season for Indian football began with the Durand Cup.
The 2022-23 season was the first time all the Indian Super League clubs played a full domestic season, with Bengaluru FC winning the Durand Cup, Mohun Bagan Super Giant winning the ISL title and Odisha FC clinching the Super Cup.
This season, however, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) decided to do away with the Super Cup and re-introduced the Federation Cup after six years.
The AIFF executive committee felt it would be “prudent to revive a legacy competition” like the Federation Cup and it decided that the tournament will be the premier cup competition in India from the 2023-24 season onwards.
Additionally, Merdeka Cup, another prestigious tournament in Asia, is set to return after nine years and India, a two-time runner-up in it, will participate there as well.
With a packed schedule ahead, the Indian football calendar for the men’s team ahead of the 2023-24 season is as follows:
International football:
SAFF U-16 Championship
September 1: Bangladesh vs India - Group A (14:30 IST, Thimphu)
September 5: India vs Nepal - Group A (14:30 IST, Thimphu)
September 7: Semi-final (14:30 or 18:30 IST, Thimphu)
September 10: Final (17:30 IST, Thimphu)
AFC U-23 Asian Cup 2024 Qualifiers
September 6 – India vs Maldives
September 9 – China vs India
September 12 – UAE vs India
King’s Cup
September 7: Iraq vs India - Semifinal (4 pm IST, Chiang Mai)
September 10: India vs TBD - Third-place Play-off or Final (16:00 or 19:00 IST, Chiang Mai)
Asian Games
September 19: China vs India - (17:00 IST, Hangzhou)
September 21: India vs Bangladesh (13:30 IST, Xiaoshan)
September 24: Myanmar vs India (17:00 IST, Xiaoshan)
September 27 or 28: Men’s Round of 16
October 1: Men’s Quarter-final
October 4: Men’s Semi-final
October 7: Men’s Gold/Bronze medal match
Merdeka Cup
October 13 – Malaysia vs India – 6:30 pm
October 17 – Final/Third-place match
The India men’s football team, having won the SAFF Championship 2023, will hope to continue its momentum in the 2023-24 cycle.
| Photo Credit:
Murali Kumar K/The Hindu
The India men’s football team, having won the SAFF Championship 2023, will hope to continue its momentum in the 2023-24 cycle.
| Photo Credit:
Murali Kumar K/The Hindu
SAFF U-19 Championship
September 21: Bangladesh vs India - Group B (13:15 IST, Kathmandu)
September 25: India vs Bhutan - Group B (17:15 IST, Kathmandu)
September 27: Semi-final (13:15 or 17:15 IST, Kathmandu)
September 30: Final (17:15 IST, Kathmandu)
FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers
November 21 – India vs Qatar
March 26 – Afghanistan/Mongolia
June 6 – India vs Kuwait
AFC Asian Cup
January 13 – India vs Australia
January 18 – India vs Uzbekistan
January 23 – Syria vs India
Round of 16 – January 28/30
Quarterfinal – February 2/3
Semifinal – February 6/7
Final – February 10
National Football
- Santosh Trophy: December 2023-March 2024
- U-20 Championship: January-February 2024
Club Football:
Durand Cup
August 3-September 3
AFC Cup qualifying spots
2nd round: August 16 – 7:00 pm – Mohun Bagan vs Machhindra/Paro (both from Nepal)
Play-off round: August 22 – Winner of 2nd round vs Club Abahani/Club Eagles
AFC Champions League
September 18, 2023: Mumbai City FC vs Nassaji Mazandaran - Pune, India - 7:30 pm IST
October 3, 2023: Navbahor Namangan vs Mumbai City FC - Namangan, Uzbekistan - 7:30 pm IST
October 23, 2023: Al Hilal SFC vs Mumbai City FC - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - 11:30 pm IST
November 6, 2023: Mumbai City FC vs Al Hilal SFC - Pune, India - 7:30 pm IST
November 28, 2023: Nassaji Mazandaran vs Mumbai City FC - Tehran, Iran - 9:30 pm
December 4, 2023: Mumbai City FC vs Navbahor Namangan - Pune, India - 9:30 pm IST
AFC Cup
September 19, 2023: Odisha FC vs Mohun Bagan Super Giant - 7:30 pm IST - Bhubaneswar, India
October 2, 2023: Bashundhara Kings vs Odisha FC - 5:30 pm IST - Dhaka, Bangladesh
October 24, 2023: Odisha FC vs Maziya S&RC - 7:30 pm IST - Bhubaneswar, India
November 7, 2023: Maziya S&RC vs Odisha FC - 9:30 pm - Male, Maldives
November 27, 2023: Mohun Bagan SG vs Odisha FC - 7:30 pm - Kolkata, India
December 11, 2023: Odisha FC vs Bashundhara Kings - 7:30 pm - Bhubaneswar, India
Indian Super League
September 22-April 10
I-League
October 2023 - April 2024
Federation Cup
April - May 2024
**The tournaments whose exact dates are not given are tentative to change, as per instructions from the apex body/organising committee.
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