Much awaited Super Cup gets the nod from AIFF

by Chittu Shetty February 20, 2018

Clubs from both I-League and ISL will now officially play each other in the much hyped Super Cup as AIFF gives the nod ahead for the tournament. 2^nd Division and Youth leagues were also the topic of discussion

All India Football Federation Senior Vice-President Mr. Subrata Dutta chaired AIFF League Committee meeting at AIFF Headquarters, Football House in New Delhi on Monday

Besides Mr. Dutta, Deputy Chairman Mr. Lalnghinglova Hmar and all other members — Mr. BK Roka, Mr. Anil Kumar and Mr. Chirag Tanna — except Mr. Rochak Langer and Mr. Souter Vaz attended the meeting.

AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das, I-League CEO Mr. Sunando Dhar, AIFF COO Mr. Kishore Taid and AIFF AGS Competitions Mr. Anil Kamat were also present.

SUPER CUP: The Committee decided on the schedule of the inaugural Super Cup. The qualifiers for the Super Cup are to be played between March 12, 2018 and March 31, 2018 while the final round will be held between March 31, 2018 to April 22, 2018.

The schedule will be finalised keeping in mind the AFC Cup commitments of Aizawl FC and JSW Bengaluru FC (subject to their qualification to the Group Stages) and the venue is to be decided between Cuttack and Kochi after AIFF inspections.

The number of foreign players to be registered for the Super Cup was discussed and a final decision will be taken after a final discussion with all stakeholders.

The tournament will be played on a knock-out basis among 16 teams. The top six teams of the Hero I-League and the Hero Indian Super League would be granted a direct entry into the round of 16, while the bottom-placed teams from both the leagues would be playing a play-off to decide on the remaining 4 spots.

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2ND DIVISION LEAGUE: Meanwhile, the 2nd division league will be divided into two phases – the preliminary and the final. In the preliminary stage, 18 teams will be divided into three groups where all matches would be played on a home and away basis.

The winners of each group plus the best second-placed team would qualify for the final round. However, if reserve teams of ISL clubs finish as winners or runners-up in any group, the position will be passed on onto the next non-ISL team.

The final round will be played at a central venue, the winners of which would be promoted to the next tier of Indian Football. Each club can register maximum 3 foreign players for the 2nd division league out of which one player has to be a national of an AFC Member Association.

AIFF YOUTH LEAGUES: It was also discussed and decided to initiate age-group leagues in the states under the State Associations. The top teams of each age-group would be able to participate in AIFF age-group leagues.