New Delhi: The Durand Cup would remain a season-opening tournament for the upcoming 2025-26 season and is likely to be held between July 15 and August 25.
The All India Football Federation initially had plans to push it from its July-August slot to the end of the season (April) to accommodate the Federation Cup, which was last held in 2017 and was replaced by the poorly-received Super Cup despite having a continental spot on offer.
But after considering all options, the AIFF has allotted a month’s time at the start of the new season to the Indian Army to organise the tournament they have staged since 1888, multiple sources informed News9 Sports.
In its tentative calendar for the next season, the AIFF had kept a slot from July 25 to Aug 31 for the Durand and Federation Cups but at its executive committee meeting had planned to interchange scheduling of the two tournaments.
The AIFF is yet to officially confirm the schedule to the clubs though tournament organisers have unofficially informed of a possible July 20 start.
The Durand Cup has become the Indian football’s season-opener in the last few seasons after moving from its traditional base in Delhi.
Last season, its 133rd edition was held across four cities from July 27 to August 31 with NorthEast United beating 17-time record champions Mohun Bagan in the final for their maiden major title in Indian football.
A total of 43 matches were held in a round-robin league format followed by knockout matches, with 24 participating teams divided into six groups of four each.
Kolkata, Kokrajhar, Shillong, and Jamshedpur were the four host cities with the last three centres staging matches from a group each. The venues for the upcoming edition is yet to be announced.
No word on Fed Cup yet
The AIFF remains keen to revive the Fed Cup as part of plans to revive ‘legacy competitions’ but a congested calendar and ecalating costs forced abandonement of plans to run it concurrently with the Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League last season.
But apart from slotting it tentatively in September, not much headway has been achieved as the clubs are yet to hear anything from the AIFF over it.
The AIFF is believed to be looking at an Aug 25- Sept 25 window for the Fed Cup, just before the beginning of the ISL though things are yet to take shape.
The AIFF is yet to confirm the schedule to the clubs though Durand Cup organisers have unofficially informed of a possible July 20 start to the participating teams. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
