The competition is open to all eligible clubs in the Indian Super League and the I-League, the top two divisions of the Indian football league system respectively. Winners receive the Super Cup trophy and also qualify for the AFC Champions League Two Preliminary round. Goa are the current holders, having defeated Jamshedpur 3–0 in the 2025 final and become the first time to win the title twice.
On 19 February 2018, the All India Football Federation announced the creation of the Super Cup as a reformed Federation Cup, India's main knockout football tournament.[3][1] The qualifiers for the inaugural recherished tournament were held between 15–16 March. The tournament proper then commenced on 31 March and concluded with the final on 20 April 2018.[3]Bengaluru emerged as the winners of the inaugural edition of the recherished tournament. They defeated East Bengal 4–1 in the final.[4]
From 2020 to 2022, the competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From the 2024 edition the competition is known as the Kalinga Super Cup, as part of the title sponsorship agreement with the Government of Odisha.[6]
Until 2019, the competition proper was a 16-team knockout tournament. In the event of a match being drawn after the group stage, the extra time was played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if required.
In 2024, the competition comprised 16 clubs in group stage. All clubs in the top tier Indian Super League entered the group stage, and the I-League clubs played qualifiers for the four remaining spots. During the group stage, clubs were divided into four groups of four, playing against each other in a single round-robin format. At the end of the group stage, the club with the most points qualified to the semi-finals. The competition then culminated with the final to determine the champions, presented with the trophy and a spot in the AFC Champions League Two qualifiers.
The title sponsor for the Super Cup was Hero MotoCorp until the 2023 edition.[7] Hero MotoCorp was also the title sponsor for the Indian Super League and I-League, the leagues which comprise Super Cup participants.[8][9] The next title sponsor was the Government of Odisha with the tournament being known as Kalinga Super Cup.[10][11]
Star Sports was the official broadcaster for the AIFF Super Cup, with all matches being broadcast on the channel, and Disney+ Hotstar was the official online streaming partner of the tournament.[12] Since 2023, Sony Sports and FanCode became the official media partners.
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2025 Super Cup
Sunil Chhetri (6)
Coro (5)
Wilmar Jordán (7)
Cleiton Silva (5)
John Gregory
Ansumana Kromah
Miku
Dimitrios Diamantakos