Indian Football Calendar 2024-25: More youth leagues, longer window for IWL and more

The Federation Cup is set to return after a gap of six years.

All India Football Federation (AIFF), the governing body for football in India, has announced the window for upcoming major competitions for the 2024-25 season. Sharing the key highlights, the apex governing body declared that the Indian football calendar will begin in July 2024 with the Durand Cup, similar to the 2023-24 season.

In addition to the advent of the 2024-25 football season, the AIFF also declared that there will be a nine-month-long window for AIFF Youth Leagues in U-13, U-15 and U-17 categories. The long window will help young players develop as they will play for a large part of the year and grow more with every passing game. However, fans are being careful by not lauding the decisions until more details are shared.

Details about the Indian Super League, I-League and the Super Cup

AIFF announced that the 2024-25 Indian Super League, the 2024-25 I-League and the Super Cup shall run concurrently. Furthermore, in a positive development for the stakeholders in women’s football in India, the Indian Women’s League (IWL) is set to receive a six-month window.

The longer duration of the league will be helpful for the Indian women footballers to stay sharp and develop their overall gameplay. There have been concerns in the past years that women footballers are left without any competition to play in for many months, which staggers their growth.

In the meantime, here is a look at the critical dates for the upcoming major Indian football competitions:

Indian Super League (ISL)

The premier league competition of India, the Indian Super League (ISL), will begin it’s 2024-25 season (11th edition) from 14 September 2024 onwards, after the conclusion of the 2024 Durand Cup.

The league tournament will conclude on 30 April 2025, parallel to the 2024-25 editions of the I-League and the Indian Women’s League.

• ISL season 2024-25 is set to begin on 14 September 2024 and run till 30 April 2025.

Durand Cup

The 2024 Durand Cup will kick off the 2024-25 football season in India. It is one of the most prestigious domestic tournaments around. Mohun Bagan won the 2023 edition after beating their arch-rivals, East Bengal FC, in the final. It will be interesting to see which ISL or I-League club manages to lift the trophy this year.

• The Durand Cup will commence on 26 July 2024 and run until 31 August 2024.

I-League

The 2024-25 season of the I-League will be intense as finishing at the top of the league standings will ensure promotion into the Indian Super League. Punjab FC became the first club in the history of Indian football to win promotion on merit by winning the 2022-23 edition of the competition. It is worth noting that the I-League will run concurrently with the Indian Super League.

• I-League will start on 19 October 2024 and end on 30 April 2025.

Super Cup / Federation Cup

In addition to the Super Cup, the AIFF announced that the Federation Cup will become the premier cup competition in India from next season (2024-25) onwards. The apex governing body has declared that the tournament is returning after a gap of six years and will run concurrently with the Indian Super League and the I-League in the 2024-25 season.

• The Super Cup/Federation Cup is to start on 1 October 2024 and run until 15 May 2025. Specific dates are yet to be shared by the AIFF.

Indian Women’s League (IWL)

The 2024-25 Indian Women’s League will be a six-month-long affair, as aforementioned. It is the premier league competition in women’s football and generates a lot of attention. The competition has contributed significantly to bringing more viewership to women’s football at large and helping the players develop themselves individually. Gokulam Kerala FC has won the 2021-22 and the 2022-23 tournament edition.

Indian Women’s League will begin on 25 October 2024 and end on 30 April 2025.

National state tournaments

As far as the national state tournaments are concerned, the season will begin with the Junior Boys and Junior Girls National Football Championship Tier 1 and Tier 2 in July, followed by the Sub-Junior Boys and Sub-Junior Girls National Football Championship Tier 1 and Tier 2 in August. The 29th Senior Women’s National Football Championship will take place in September (Group Stage) and October (Final Round). The 78th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy will be held in November (Group Stage) and December (Final Round).

Indian Football Competitions Full Calendar 2024-25:

• Durand Cup: July 26 – August 31, 2024.
• I-League 3: August 1 – September 30, 2024.
• AIFF Youth Leagues (U13/U15/U17): September 1, 2024 – May 31, 2025.
• Indian Super League: September 14, 2024 – April 30, 2025.
• I-League: October 19, 2024 – April 30, 2025.
• Indian Women’s League: October 25, 2024 – April 30, 2025.
• IWL 2: January 25 – April 30, 2025.
• I-League 2: January 15 – April 30, 2025.
• Super Cup: October 1, 2024 – May 15, 2025.
• Junior Boys National Football Championship Tier 1 and Tier 2: July 15 – July 31, 2024.
• Junior Girls National Football Championship Tier 1 and Tier 2: July 15 – July 31, 2024.
• Sub-Junior Boys National Football Championship Tier 1 and Tier 2: August 5 – August 31, 2024.
• Sub-Junior Girls National Football Championship Tier 1 and Tier 2: August 5 – August 31, 2024.
• 29th Senior Women’s National Football Championship Group Stage: September 1 – September 15, 2024.
• 29th Senior Women’s National Football Championship Final Round: October 1 – October 15, 2024.
• 78th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy Group Stage: November 5 – November 15, 2024.
• 78th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy Final Round: December 1 – December 15, 2024.
• National Beach Soccer Championship: February 1 – February 20, 2025.
• AIFF Men’s Futsal Club Championship: May 1 – May 20, 2025.

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