Indian Super Cup 2018: All you need to know about the inaugural tournament
The success of the Indian Super League (ISL) has invoked a shift in the footballing landscape of the country, the likes of which have seldom been seen before. But with the I-League is not far behind and still India's elite football competition in many eyes, it was just going to be a matter of time before the two went head-to-head. Lo and behold, the Indian Super Cup.
The tournament will feature eight teams from the ISL and eight teams from the I-League in competition against each other all vying to be the first Super Cup winner. The format of the tournament is such that 12 teams will directly qualify for the main draw of the competition and shall be joined by 4 other teams from the qualification rounds which were played a short while ago.
From the qualifiers, the four teams that came through were Gokulam Kerala, ATK, Churchill Brothers and Mumbai City FC after their respective victories and will join the main draw set to begin on March 31 at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar.
The main draw will feature the likes of NEROCA, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Shillong Lajong, former I-League Champions Aizawl and newly-crowned Champions Minerva Punjab from the I-League and Bengaluru, Goa, Pune City, Jamshedpur, Kerala Blasters and Champions Chennaiyin FC from the ISL.
Eight teams will head into the quarter-finals with the semi-finals on April 16 and 17, with the final being played on April 20. All the matches will be held in the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar.
Here's the schedule for the tournament:
March 31, 2018: Chennaiyin FC vs Aizawl FC, 5:00 PM (IST)
April 1, 2018: Bengaluru FC vs Gokulam Kerala, 8:00 PM (IST)
April 1, 2018: Churchill Brothers vs Mohun Bagan, 8:00 PM (IST)
April 2, 2018: Minerva Punjab FC vs Jamshedpur FC, 8:00 PM (IST)
April 3, 2018: FC Goa vs ATK, 8:00 PM (IST)
April 4, 2018: FC Pune City vs Shillong Lajong, 8:00 PM (IST)
April 5, 2018: Kingfisher East Bengal vs Mumbai City FC, 8:00 PM (IST)
April 6, 2018: NEROCA FC vs Kerala Blasters, 8:00 PM (IST)
April 10, 2018: Quarter-final 1 – TBC vs TBC, 4:00 PM (IST)
April 11, 2018: Quarter-final 2 – TBC vs TBC, 4:00 PM (IST)
April 12, 2018: Quarter-final 3 – TBC vs TBC, 4:00 PM (IST)
April 13, 2018: Quarter-final 4 – TBC vs TBC, 4:00 PM (IST)
April 16: Semi-final 1.
April 17: Semi-final 2.
April 20: Final