Super Cup, India’s primary domestic cup competition which usually happens in the aftermath of the ISL will take place in mid-season in January this year, with the ISL going on a break due to the Indian national team’s AFC Asian Cup 2023 campaign. The Super Cup or Kalinga Super Cup known for sponsorship reasons with Odisha’s Government will be the Super Cup’s fourth edition of its existence.
After five years the competition has returned to the city from where it started, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. 2018 saw Bengaluru FC emerge as winners against East Bengal FC in the final, while 2019 witnessed FC Goa clinch the title with a triumph over Chennaiyin FC in the final which happened in Bhubaneswar.
It was not held in years 2020, 2021, and 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions that were in place for many events. Last year in 2023 it was held again, but in Kerala, specifically only in Khozikhode and Malappuram districts where Odisha FC had won in the final defeating Bengaluru FC.
The Participating Teams
All teams from the Indian Super League that will be playing in the group stages of the 2023 Kalinga Super Cup along with the four I-League sides, Gokulam Kerala, Sreenidi Deccan, Shillong Lajong, and one among Inter Kashi, and Rajasthan United FC who will meanwhile compete in a playoff match to decide on who will be participating in the Cup. In total, the 4 teams from the I-League will join the 12 from the Indian Super League (ISL) to make it a total of 16 team-competition.
Group Stages And Format
All 16 teams of the 2023 Super Cup have been categorized into 4 groups in the form of Group A, Group B, Group C, and Group D. Each group will include 4 teams mentioned in the following order.
| GROUP A | GROUP B | GROUP C | GROUP D |
| Mohun Bagan SG | Kerala Blasters FC | Mumbai City FC | FC Goa |
| East Bengal FC | NorthEast United FC | Chennaiyin FC | Odisha FC |
| Hyderabad FC | Jamshedpur FC | Punjab FC | Bengaluru FC |
| Sreenidi Deccan FC | Shillong Lajong FC | Gokulam Kerala FC | Kashi/Rajasthan |
The format is pretty simple as only the four group winners will qualify for the next stage which is the Semi-Finals. In the semis, Group A winners will face the Group B winners in the Semi-Final One, while the Group C winners will face off against the Group C winners in the Semi-Final 2 match. In the Grand Finale, it will be a battle between the Semi-Final 2 game winners and the Semi-Final 1 match winners.
Fixtures of Super Cup 2024
Here is a detailed summary of all the 28 matches that will be played in the 2023 Super Cup.
| Date | Time | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08-Jan-24 | 2:00 PM | I-League 4th Position vs I-League 5th Position | Kalinga Stadium Pitch 1 |
| 09-Jan-24 | 2:00 PM | East Bengal FC vs Hyderabad FC | Kalinga Stadium Pitch 1 |
| 09-Jan-24 | 7:30 PM | Mohun Bagan Super Giant vs I-League 1 | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
| 14-Jan-24 | 2:00 PM | Mohun Bagan Super Giant vs Hyderabad FC | Kalinga Stadium Pitch 1 |
| 14-Jan-24 | 7:30 PM | East Bengal FC vs I-League 1 | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
| 19-Jan-24 | 2:00 PM | Hyderabad FC vs I-League 1 | Kalinga Stadium Pitch 1 |
| 19-Jan-24 | 7:30 PM | Mohun Bagan Super Giant vs East Bengal FC | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
| 10-Jan-24 | 2:00 PM | Kerala Blasters FC vs I-League 2 | Kalinga Stadium Pitch 1 |
| 10-Jan-24 | 7:30 PM | NorthEast United FC vs Jamshedpur FC | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
| 15-Jan-24 | 2:00 PM | NorthEast United FC vs I-League 2 | Kalinga Stadium Pitch 1 |
| 15-Jan-24 | 7:30 PM | Kerala Blasters FC vs Jamshedpur FC | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
| 20-Jan-24 | 2:00 PM | Jamshedpur FC vs I-League 2 | Kalinga Stadium Pitch 1 |
| 20-Jan-24 | 7:30 PM | Kerala Blasters FC vs NorthEast United FC | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
| 11-Jan-24 | 2:00 PM | Mumbai City FC vs I-League 3 | Kalinga Stadium Pitch 1 |
| 11-Jan-24 | 7:30 PM | Chennaiyin FC vs Punjab FC | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
| 16-Jan-24 | 2:00 PM | Chennaiyin FC vs I-League 3 | Kalinga Stadium Pitch 1 |
| 16-Jan-24 | 7:30 PM | Mumbai City FC vs Punjab FC | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
| 21-Jan-24 | 2:00 PM | Punjab FC vs I-League 3 | Kalinga Stadium Pitch 1 |
| 21-Jan-24 | 7:30 PM | Mumbai City FC vs Chennaiyin FC | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
| 12-Jan-24 | 2:00 PM | FC Goa vs I-League 4 | Kalinga Stadium Pitch 1 |
| 12-Jan-24 | 7:30 PM | Odisha FC vs Bengaluru FC | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
| 17-Jan-24 | 2:00 PM | FC Goa vs Bengaluru FC | Kalinga Stadium Pitch 1 |
| 17-Jan-24 | 7:30 PM | Odisha FC vs I-League 4 | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
| 22-Jan-24 | 2:00 PM | Bengaluru FC vs I-League 4 | Kalinga Stadium Pitch 1 |
| 22-Jan-24 | 7:30 PM | FC Goa vs Odisha FC | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
| 24 January 2024 (Semi-final 1) | 7:30 PM | Winner of Group A vs Winner of Group B | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
| 25 January 2024 (Semi-final 2) | 7:30 PM | Winner of Group C vs Winner of Group D | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
| 28 January 2024 (Final) | 7:30 PM | Winner of Semi-Final 1 vs Winner of Semi-Final 2 | Kalinga Stadium Main Pitch |
Tournament Venues
The matches will mostly take place on two grounds. The first one will be the Kalinga Stadium main pitch, while the second one will be Kalinga Stadium Ground 1 which is an additional field along with the primary playing field. In total 15 matches will be played in the Kalinga Stadium main pitch, while only the group stage games will take place in the other, and thus it will host 13 games.
Who Are The Favourites?
It’s never easy to predict who has the best chance to win a tournament like these. But, we will give it a shot. With the Indian team in action at the Asian Cup, eight ISL clubs will have some or even many vital players missing. For example the likes of Mohun Bagan will miss seven players, and Mumbai City will be without six key players.
Although the Federation has relaxed the foreign players’ restriction in the starting lineup and the clubs are now eligible to field all 6 foreigners (including one mandatory AFC quota foreigner) in the first XI.
Our prediction for the knockout stages of the Super Cup is as follows –
| Semi-Final One | East Bengal FC (Group A Winners) | Kerala Blasters FC (Group B Winners) |
| Semi-Final Two | Chennaiyin FC (Group C Winners) | FC Goa (Group D Winners) |
| Grand Final | FC Goa (SF Two Winners) | Kerala Blasters FC (SF One Winners) |
We predict Kerala Blasters FC (Champions) to edge FC Goa and win their first-ever major trophy.
Match Broadcast
As per the update given by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) all the matches in the 2023 Kalinga Super Cup will be live-streamed on the Jio Cinema.
The Super Cup 2024 will be another important event in the Indian Football calendar this year which promises to be a very important one with a lot of key matches ahead for our clubs and national team in both the domestic and international competitions.
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