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 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 strikin ...

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 ...

competition in Indian football. It is organised by the

All India Football Federation The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is the national governing body of football in India. It is a member of FIFA, the international governing body of football and affiliated to Asian Football Confederation. It is affiliated to Ministry ...

(AIFF). Competition is open to the

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album '' kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

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 Federa ...

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 wi ...

, the current top 2 divisions of Indian football league system.

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 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 ...

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 = Ea ...

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. In the event of a match being drawn after the completion of 90 minutes,

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...

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 = Ea ...

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 Regim ...

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 pro ...

, Gokulam Kerala FC,

Aizawl FC Aizawl FC is an Indian professional football club based in Aizawl, Mizoram, that competes in the I-League. Incorporated in 1984, the club earned the entry in India's top-tier league in 2015–16, after winning 2015 I-League 2nd Division. Nick ...

and

Churchill Brothers FC Churchill Brothers FC Goa, or simply known as Churchill Brothers, is an Indian professional football club based in Margao, Goa, that competes in the I-League, alongside Goa Professional League. Founded in 1988 in Margao, the club usually pa ...

— 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 Limited (formerly Hero Honda) is an Indian multinational motorcycle and scooter manufacturer headquartered in New Delhi. The company is one of the largest two-wheeler manufacturers in the world, as well as in India, where it h ...

. 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 is the official broadcaster for the AIFF Super Cup, with all matches being broadcast on the channel and

Disney+ Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar (also known as Hotstar) is an Indian brand of subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Novi Digital Entertainment of Disney Star and operated by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, both d ...

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