AIFF Super Cup, also called the Super Cup or

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...

Super Cup (for sponsorship ties), is an annual knockout football competition in Indian football. It is organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Competition is open to the

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that play in

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 ...

and

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 ...

, the current top 2 divisions of

Indian football league system The Indian football league system is the league structure of football club competitions in India. The highest level of men's club football competition in India is the Indian Super League. Indian Women's League, founded in 2016, is the highest l ...

History

On 19 February 2018, the All India Football Federation announced the creation of the Super Cup as a replacement for the Federation Cup, India's main knockout football tournament. The qualifiers for the inaugural tournament were held between 15-16 March. The tournament proper then commenced on 31 March and concluded with the final on 20 April 2018. Bengaluru emerged as the winners of the inaugural edition of the tournament. They defeated

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

4–1 in the final. The 2020 and 2021 editions had not been held due to

COVID-19 pandemic in India The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest n ...

, while tournament returned in new calendar for 2023.

Competition format

The competition proper is a 16-team

knockout tournament A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

. In the event of a match being drawn after the completion of 90 minutes, extra time is played, followed by a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

if required. The top six teams from both the Indian Super League and the I-League qualify for the competition proper automatically, while the bottom sides participate in the qualifiers to determine the remaining spots.

Controversy

In the second edition, seven I-League clubs — Minerva Punjab,

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...

NEROCA FC NEROCA FC is an Indian professional football club based in Imphal, Manipur, that competes in the I-League. The club made its I-League 2nd Division debut in the 2015–16 season. The club won the 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division and secured p ...

Gokulam Kerala FC Gokulam Kerala Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Calicut, Kerala. Founded in 2017, the club competes in the I-League, the second tier of Indian football league system. They won the 2020–21 I-League to become th ...

, Aizawl FC and Churchill Brothers FC — withdrew from the tournament citing "unfair treatment to I-League clubs by the AIFF."

Results

Performance by club

List of winning managers

Golden boot winners

Sponsorship and media coverage

Sponsor

The title sponsor for the Super Cup is Hero MotoCorp. Hero MotoCorp is also the title sponsor for the Indian Super League and I-League, the leagues which comprise Super Cup participants.

Media coverage

Star Sports Star Sports refers to several current or former Asian sports networks owned by The Walt Disney Company: * Star Sports (East Asian TV channel) * Star Sports (Indian TV network) * Fox Sports (Southeast Asian TV network) Fox Sports (formerly ESPN ...

is the official broadcaster for the AIFF Super Cup, with all matches being broadcast on the channel and Disney+ Hotstar is the official online streaming partner of the tournament.

References

{{National football Cups (AFC region) Super Cup National association football cups Recurring sporting events established in 2018 2018 establishments in India