AIFF delay Federation Cup revival to 2024-25 season

The Super Cup will be held like before for this calendar season as well.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has decided to delay the return of the Federation Cup, a legacy football competition in India, by a year, according to a report published in the web media outlet News 9 . 

Initially, the AIFF had planned to revive the Federation Cup in July, for the 2023-24 season, with hopes of bringing back its prestige, as the successor competition, the Super Cup, had not gained the same level of credibility among participating clubs in the Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League. 

The executive committee of the AIFF had initially intended to have it run in between the season along with with the ISL and the I-League. However, due to a congested schedule, a conflict between club and national team commitments, and pre-existing marketing partner commitments, the AIFF has rescheduled its reintroduction to the 2024-25 season. A specific date and time for this return have yet to be finalized.

An anonymous AIFF official explained to News 9, "Because schedule and broadcast commitments put in motion from before, the Super Cup will be persisted with in 2023-24. From the 2024-25 season, the Federation Cup will make a reappearance."

Traditionally, the Super Cup has been scheduled towards the end of the football season, following the conclusion of the ISL and I-League, which has made it unappealing to many clubs.

The AIFF is actively seeking a suitable window to hold the Super Cup within the 2023-24 season, even though it might be necessary to schedule it towards the season's end once again. 

History of Federation Cup

The Federation Cup, originally launched as a prestigious cup tournament in 1977, unfortunately came to a halt after the 2017 season. Throughout its history, Mohun Bagan established themselves as the dominant force in the competition, clinching the title a remarkable 14 times. However, Sunil Chhetri led Bengaluru FC defeated Mohun Bagan in the last edition of the competition.