The 2023 Durand Cup (also known as IndianOil Durand Cup due to sponsorship ties with the

Indian Oil Corporation Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL; d/b/a IndianOil) is a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. It is headquartered in New Delhi. It is a public sector unde ...

) was the 132nd edition of

Durand Cup The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...

, the oldest

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

tournament in Asia, and the second edition since it was supported by the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...

. The tournament is hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society in co-operation with the

AIFF Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices. The format was developed by Apple Inc. in 1988 based on Electronic Arts' Interchange File ...

, Eastern Command of the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by ...

and the

Government of West Bengal The Government of West Bengal also known as the West Bengal Government, is the subnational government of the Indian state of West Bengal , created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial authority. The ...

, supported by the

Government of Assam The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam, a state of India. It consists of the Governor appointed by the President of India as the head of the state, currently Jagdish Mukhi. The head of government is the Chief Minister, ...

. This year for the second time the tournament will be played in more than one city. This will be the second season of the tournament wherein all 12 clubs in the top tier

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

have been mandated to participate, along with invited clubs from

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

I-League 2 I-League 2, previously known as I-League 2nd Division and officially known as or Hero I-League 2 (for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp), is an Indian men's professional football league. It is the 3rd tier of Indian football, behind India ...

and regional league, and teams representing armed forces.

Bengaluru FC Bengaluru Football Club () is an Indian professional football club based in Bangalore, Karnataka. The club competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was established on 20 July 2013, and began its first ...

were the defending champions, having defeated

Mumbai City FC Mumbai City Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Mumbai, Maharashtra that competes in the Indian Super League, the top flight of Indian football. The club was founded in August 2014, during the inaugural season of ...

in the 2022 final. The 2023 IndianOil

final saw the

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

club Mohun Bagan SG win their 17th

title by defeating their arch-rivals

East Bengal FC East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top fl ...

by 1-0.

Teams

The organization committee announced an increase in the number of teams from the previous edition. 19 Indian clubs and 5

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

teams, from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

will play in this edition. This is the first time in 27 years a foreign team participates in the tournament. The teams have been drawn into six groups of four each. Six group winners and the two best second-placed sides will make the knockout stage.

Venues

Initially,

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the fo ...

was drafted as a host city. However, due to the 2023 Manipur unrest,

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

was set as the replacement. A total of 43 matches are being played across 3 cities —

and

Kokrajhar Kokrajhar () is a town in the Bodoland Territorial Region, an autonomous territory in Assam, one of the North Eastern states of India. Kokrajhar town is located along the bank of the river Gaurang. The North East Indian Railways divides the ci ...

. 23 matches will be played in Kolkata, including the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

, 11 matches in Guwahati, and 9 matches in Kokrajhar.

Trophy tour

Like the preceding season, the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) organized a trophy tour across 15 cities before the beginning of the tournament but with much more grandiosity. The tour was flagged off on 30 June from Manekshaw Centre in Delhi Cantonment in the presence of

Gen. The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; Hebrew language, Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its i ...

Manoj Pande General Manoj Pande, (born 6 May 1962) is an Indian Army General serving as the 29th and the current Chief of the Army Staff. He previously served as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff, General Officer-Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Comma ...

ACM ACM or A.C.M. may refer to: Aviation * AGM-129 ACM, 1990–2012 USAF cruise missile * Air chief marshal * Air combat manoeuvring or dogfighting * Air cycle machine * Arica Airport (Colombia) (IATA: ACM), in Arica, Amazonas, Colombia Computing * ...

VR Chaudhari and the

President

Kalyan Chaubey Kalyan Chaubey (born 16 December 1976) is an Indian politician of Bhartiya Janta Party and a former professional association football, football goalkeeper. He is the current president of the All India Football Federation. Family Chaubey is fro ...

and toured upon

Kartavya Path Rajpath, officially named Kartavya Path, and formerly known as Kingsway, is a ceremonial boulevard in New Delhi, India, that runs from Rashtrapati Bhavan on Raisina Hill through Vijay Chowk and India Gate, National War Memorial to Nation ...

from

India Gate The India Gate (formerly known as the All India War Memorial) is a war memorial located near the Rajpath on the eastern edge of the "ceremonial axis" of New Delhi, formerly called duty path. It stands as a memorial to 84,000 soldiers of the Br ...

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

, later reaching

Indian Military Academy The Indian Military Academy (IMA) is one of the oldest military academies in India, and trains officers for the Indian Army. Located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, it was established in 1932 following a recommendation by a military committee set up ...

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

on 2 July. The tour continued to

Udhampur Udhampur (ˌʊd̪ʱəmpur) is a city and a municipal council in Udhampur district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters of Udhampur District. Named after Raja Udham Singh, it serves as the district capita ...

on 4 July, then to

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

on 6 July, where a grand reception was organized by the officers and cadets at

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services i.e. the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force train together before they go on ...

. The trophies were received by the Army Officers Institute in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

on 8 July and was publicly showcased at the

Gateway of India The Gateway of India is an arch-monument built in the early 20th century in the city of Mumbai (Bombay), India. It was erected to commemorate the landing of King-Emperor George V, the first British monarch to visit India, in December 1911 at ...

and the

Marine Drive Marine Drive may refer to: Roads Bangladesh * Cox Bazar-Tekhnaf Marine Drive, world's longest marine drive road. Canada *Marine Drive (Nova Scotia), a scenic route in Nova Scotia * Marine Drive (Greater Vancouver), a number of roadways in Metro ...

. The tour continued to

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

on 9 July, where public showcasing was done at

Amber Fort Amer Fort or Amber Fort is a fort located in Amer, Rajasthan, India. Amer is a town with an area of located from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. Amber city and Amber fort were founded by ruler Alan Singh of Chanda dynasty of Meenas. Located ...

Hawa Mahal The Hawa Mahal is a palace in the city of Jaipur, India. Built from red and pink sandstone, it is on the edge of the City Palace, Jaipur, and extends to the ''Zenana'', or women's chambers. The structure was built in 1799 by the Maharaja Sawai ...

Jal Mahal Jal Mahal (meaning "Water Palace") is a palace in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake in Jaipur city, the capital of the state of Rajasthan, India. The palace was originally constructed in 1699; the building and the lake around it were later ...

Albert Hall Museum The Albert Hall Museum in Jaipur is the oldest museum of the state and functions as the state museum of Rajasthan, India. The building is situated in Ram Niwas garden outside the city wall opposite New gate and is a fine example of Indo-Sarac ...

and Jaipur Vidhan Sabha. The trophies were then unveiled at

Indian Naval Academy The Indian Naval Academy (INA or INA Ezhimala) is the defence service training establishment for officer cadre of the Indian Naval Service and the Indian Coast Guard, located in Ezhimala, Kannur district, Kerala. Situated between Ezhimala h ...

Ezhimala Ezhimala, a hill reaching a height of , is located near Payyanur, in Kannur district of Kerala, south India. It is a part of a conspicuous and isolated cluster of hills, forming a promontory, north of Kannur (Cannanore). The Indian Naval Acad ...

on 13 July. The tour in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

continued with the trophies being sailed on

INS Vikrant Two ships operated by the Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. ...

Southern Naval Command The Southern Naval Command is one of the three command-level formations of the Indian Navy. It has its headquarters in Kochi, Kerala at INS Venduruthy. It is the Training Command of the Indian Navy. The Command is commanded by a Three Star Fla ...

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

in the presence of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Susheel Menon and IM Viajayan on 15 July. The trophies reached one of the host cities—

on 16 July. They were received by the Sports Minister of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Nandita Gorlosa and

Lt. Gen. Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star rank, three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in ...

Rana Pratap Kalita Rana Pratap Kalita UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM is a serving Lieutenant General in the Indian Army. He is currently the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Indian Army's Eastern Command. Personal life He is Assamese by ethnicity and ...

. The tour continued to

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

on 18 July, following to

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in ...

on 19 July, where the trophies were sailed across

Umiam Lake Umiam Lake (locally known as Dam sait) is a reservoir in the hills north of Shillong in the state of Meghalaya, India. It was created by damming the Umiam River in the early 1960s. The principal catchment area of the lake and dam is spread over ...

and Orchid Lake and then brought to

Kibithu Kibithu, also spelled Kibithoo, is a village in Arunachal Pradesh in Anjaw district. It is one of the easternmost permanently populated towns of India, located on the LAC (line of actual control) at . It is nearly 70 km north of district headqu ...

as a part of tribute offering to India's first Chief of Defence Staff—

Bipin Rawat General Bipin Rawat (16 March 1958 – 8 December 2021) was an Indian military officer who was a four-star general of the Indian Army. He served as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Indian Armed Forces from January 2020 unt ...

at General Bipin Rawat Garrison. The trophies traveled to Hyderabad, visiting the

Air Force Academy An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air forc ...

on 20 July and then on 22 July, the trophies reached another host city—

in the presence of Chaubey, the CEM of the BTC

Pramod Boro Pramod Boro (born 1 March 1975) is an Indian politician serving as the president of The United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) since 25 February 2020 and Chief Executive Member of Bodoland Territorial Region, an autonomous region in Assam since 1 ...

and

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Dinesh Hooda. The trophy tour was flagged in on 25 July in

which was commemorated by first ever BASE jump in the city taking place from the top of

The 42 The 42 is a residential skyscraper in Kolkata, in the state of West Bengal, India. It is located on Chowringhee Road, the central business district of the city, between the commercial building of Tata Centre and the residential building of ...

, led by

Lt. Col. Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Satyandra Verma and Gp. Capt. Kamal Singh Oberh.

Official song

On 10 August 2023, Durand Cup Official theme song and a music video featuring

Vicky Kaushal Vicky Kaushal (; born 16 May 1988) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi films. Kaushal is the recipient of numerous accolades including a National Film Award and two Filmfare Awards, and has appeared in ''Forbes India'' Celebrity 1 ...

were released. The song was titled ''"Bhide"'' in Hindi which was sung by

Arijit Singh Arijit Singh (born 25 April 1987) is an Indian singer and music composer. He sings predominantly in Bengali and Hindi, but has also performed in various other Indian languages. He is the recipient of a National Award and six Filmfare Awards ...

, and

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

, composed by

and written by

Amitabh Bhattacharya Amitabh Bhattacharya (born 16 November 1976) is an Indian lyricist and playback singer who works in Bollywood films. He shot to fame with the film ''Dev.D'' with the song "Emotional Atyachar" turning an instant hit. He sang this song under the ...

Divine Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

Broadcasting

Sony Sports Network Sony Sports Network, formerly Sony Pictures Sports Network, and also known as Sony TEN, is a group of Indian pay television sports channels owned by Culver Max Entertainment (formerly Sony Pictures Networks India). The original TEN Sports chan ...

have acquired the broadcasting rights of

for three editions, starting from 2023. The 2023 edition will be live streamed on the network's OTT platform

SonyLIV SonyLIV is an Indian over-the-top freemium streaming platform owned by Culver Max Entertainment. SonyLIV was introduced in 2013 as the first OTT service in India. As a streaming service, it is carrying content from its local networks, includi ...

as well as TV channels Sony Ten 2 and Sony Ten 2 HD.

Group stage

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Ranking of second-placed teams

Knockout stage

Qualified teams

Bracket

Quarter-finals

---- ---- ----

Semi-finals

----

Final

Statistics

Top scorers

Hat-tricks

;Notes ⁴ Player scored 4 goals

Clean sheets

Discipline

Player

* Most yellow cards: 2 ** Md. Mizanur Rahman * Most red cards: 1 ** Md. Mizanur Rahaman **

Nishu Kumar Nishu Kumar Tashni (born 5 November 1997) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters. Club career Youth career: 2009–2015 Nishu Kumar began his career with Chandigarh Football A ...

** Liton Shil ** Dettol Moirangthem ** Ngamsanglena Haokip ** Bhabindra Malla Thakuri **

Hormipam Ruivah Hormipam Ruivah (born 25 January 2001) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters and the India national team. Club career Youth and early career Hormipam hails from Somdal Vi ...

Anirudh Thapa Anirudh Thapa (born 15 January 1998) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Indian Super League club Chennaiyin, which he captains, and the India national football team. Club career Early life and youth career Th ...

Club

* Most yellow cards: 3 ** Bangladesh Army * Most red cards: 2 ** Indian Army

Awards

Prize money

The total pool of prize money for the 2023 edition is .

Man of the Match awards

References

{{2023–24 in Asian football (AFC)

Group Stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concent ...

Durand Cup seasons 2023 domestic association football cups