Defending champion Mohun Bagan Super Giant will lead the challenge as 24 teams brace themselves for Indian football’s first competition of the 2024-25 season in the form of the 133rd edition of the Durand Cup.
Mohun Bagan SG, also the holder of the Indian Super League shield title, will be facing the Srinagar-based club Downtown Heroes FC, which plays in I-League Division 2, in the opening group A league match at the Salt Lake Stadium on Saturday.
The competition format has 24 teams divided into six groups of four teams each. The groups include teams from the ISL, I-League, and the Services teams of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
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Kolkata will host Groups A, B, and C matches, while Jamshedpur will have Group D matches. Kokrajhar and Shillong will host the Group E and F league matches.
The 36-match group league stage will conclude with the Kolkata derby featuring two of the oldest teams in the continent – Mohun Bagan SG and East Bengal FC – on August 18.
All six group toppers and two best second-placed teams will progress to the quarterfinals (knock-out stage). The quarterfinals are slated to start on August 21 and will be held in Jamshedpur, Kokrajhar, apart from Kolkata, which will have two matches.
Kolkata will host the semifinals and the final, scheduled on August 31.
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