File image of Mohun Bagan players Anirudh Thapa and Jason Cummings.© X (Twitter)
Domestic season opener Durand Cup football tournament will be held from July 27 to August 31 across four venues with Indian Super League, I-League and other invitational teams competing in it. The 133rd edition of the Asia’s oldest tournament will have 43 matches to be played in a round-robin league-cum-knockout format, with the opening match and the final scheduled at the iconic Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) in Kolkata. The 24 participating teams will be divided into six groups. Eight teams — group toppers and two best second-placed sides — will qualify for the knockout stage.
Like last year, international teams are expected to participate this year too, the organisers said on Tuesday.
Continuing with its commitment to spread the tournament further into the East and North-East, two new cities — Jamshedpur and Shillong — have been added as host venues this year.
Matches will be held in Kokrajhar in Assam for the second consecutive year, besides Kolkata, which has been a host for the last five years.
Kolkata will host three groups while Kokrajhar, Shillong and Jamshedpur will host one group each.
ISL side Mohun Bagan Super Giant are the defending champions, having won the tournament for a record 17th time, the most by any team.
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