Knockout format likely for season-ending Super Cup

Panaji: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) plans to conduct the season-ending Super Cup as a knockout tournament, the winners being rewarded with a spot in continental competitions.

The AIFF had initially reserved a seven-month window between Oct and May for the cup competition. The plan was for the tournament to run concurrently with the league season. However, there appears to be a change with the federation now pushing for a knockout tournament, rather than the league-cum-knockout format adopted earlier.

“We will take a final decision later this week, but I understand the clubs too want a knockout tournament,” AIFF secretary general Anilkumar Prabhakaran told TOI on Wednesday.

The federation’s move to have the Super Cup as a knockout tournament is understandable, given that they no longer need these extra games to meet the AFC regulation of minimum 27 matches to qualify for continental tournaments.

Clubs fulfil the minimum 27-match criteria with games in the Indian Super League (24) and Durand Cup (3).

Held after the ISL concludes, many clubs did not take the Super Cup seriously, allowing their foreign players to leave for home after the league campaign comes to an end. AIFF’s decision to grant a continental spot to the winners made everyone think differently, though there is no clarity whether the Asian Football Confederation will allow India 1.5 berths in the second-tier AFC Champions League 2, or have the second team participating in the third-tier AFC Challenge League.

East Bengal won the last edition of the Super Cup, held during the AFC Asian Cup in January, with 16 teams including four from the I-League. The Kolkata giants ended their 12-year national trophy drought with an extra time win against Odisha FC, thanks to Cleiton Silva’s 111th minute goal as Carles Cuadrat’s side won 3-2 and qualified for the preliminary rounds of the AFC Champions League 2.