The Cup format of the country’s club-level football competition, renamed as Kalinga Super Cup, will get underway with 16 teams vying for the top honour at the Kalinga Stadium from Tuesday.
The first match will see Kolkata giant East Bengal taking on Hyderabad FC while the defending Indian Super League (ISL) champion Mohun Bagan Super Giant will meet another Hyderabad-based team, Sreenidi Deccan FC, in the second match of the day.
Sreenidi is the highest-placed team among the four I-League sides in the tournament while all the 12 ISL teams will play here.
The Super Cup, which has Odisha FC as the defending champion, will be held in the absence of the 26 first-team Indian players who will be busy playing for the country at Doha, in the AFC Asian Cup 2023.
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Mohun Bagan is the team hit hardest by this development, having contributed seven players to the senior National side. Mumbai City FC, FC Goa and Bengaluru FC will also be missing some of its key Indian players.
Happening during the halfway break of the country’s top league – the ISL - the tournament will offer the teams a chance to reassess their shape and strength before launching their bid in the decisive stage when the league resumes in February.
The league phase of the Super Cup will be held between January 9 to 22 while the semifinals will be held on January 24 and 25 before the final scheduled on January 28.
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