Durand Cup
OrganiserDurand Football Tournament Society
AIFF
Current2026 Durand Cup
Founded1888 (age 138)[1]
RegionIndia
Number of teams24
Current championsNorthEast United (2nd title)
Most successful teamMohun Bagan (17 titles)
BroadcastersSony Sports
SonyLIV (online streaming)
Website

The Durand Cup (also called the IndianOil Durand Cup) is an annual football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Annadale, Shimla,[2] Himachal Pradesh.[3][4] Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and the All India Football Federation (AIFF), it is the oldest existing club football tournament in Asia and the fifth oldest[a] national football competition in the world.[5][6][7] The tournament currently serves as the curtain raiser for every Indian football season. It is open for any national club, with guest invitee teams from different sections of the Indian Armed Forces, keeping the century long tradition intact.[8][9][10]

Since the inception of the Federation Cup, it became merely an exhibition tournament with invitational participations. However, from 2022 all the Indian Super League and majority of the I-League clubs participate. The tournament indicates the beginning of an Indian football season across all divisions. The premier domestic cup status and the AFC Champions League Two spot belong to the Super Cup.[11][12]

The tournament is named after its founder Henry Mortimer Durand, the foreign secretary of the British Raj from 1884 to 1894. It first began as a football tournament for different departments and regiments of the armed forces of India and the princely states.[13] Since the independence, the army's presence is maintained by the participation of different regiments as guest invitees.[14] Army Green became the latest army team to win the competition in 2016.[15]

History

Foundation

The Durand Football Tournament was started by Henry Mortimer Durand in 1888.[16][17] Sir Henry was recuperating from illness in Shimla in North India. Having become conscious of the value of sport as a means to maintain health, he decided to present a prize to encourage sporting competition in India. In 1940, the venue of the tournament was shifted to New Delhi.[16]

British Raj era

The Durand tournament was initially a military affair, open to the British Armed Forces, the Indian Army and other armed units such as provincial frontier-security regiments and the volunteer regiments of the reserves.[18] In practice, however, the native soldiers traditionally preferred field hockey to football, a fact which has been evident from the Indian and Pakistani dominance of that sport in international events such as the Olympics. The exception to this tradition were the Nepali men of the brigades of Gurkhas. Initially, this tended to leave the field open to the Indian Army until football's popularity took hold and it became the more universal sport it is today.[citation needed]

The matches were played in Dagshai, near Shimla, with the inaugural final becoming a Scottish affair, where the first name on the trophy been inscribed was the Royal Scots Fusiliers, who beat the Highland Light Infantry by 2–1.[19][20] In 1940 the tournament was relocated to the capital city of New Delhi and, with most military units dispatched in World War II, the tournament was opened to civilian teams so as to maintain the level of competition, wherein Mohammedan became the first civilian team to win the tournament at the Irwin Amphitheater.[21] The tournament would get suspended due to the war, which would soon be followed by the Indian independence movement leading to the partition of India.[22]

Post-independence

Following the turmoil of in 1947, the Durand Cup was accidentally discovered in the office of Commander-in-Chief Sir Claude Auchinleck and efforts were made in order to shift the tournament to the newly formed Pakistan, but was strongly resisted by the Defence Secretary H.M. Patel, who acquired and stored it in the State Bank of India, ensuring that the Durand Cup remains a part of Indian football.[23] Since then the tournament is hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society, a registered society at Delhi, presided by the Chief of Defence Staff and chaired by the three Service Chiefs of Indian Armed Forces.[24][16][25] At the first edition of the tournament since the independence of India, Hyderabad City Police defeated Mohun Bagan by 1–0 in the replayed final. For the next ten years, the trophy would go on to swap hands frequently among East Bengal FC, Mohun Bagan, Madras Regimental Centre and Hyderabad City Police, who played as Andhra Pradesh Police after 1960. After a year of halt due to Sino-Indian War, the tournament would get dominated by Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, with Border Security Force and JCT FC challenging their dominant run at times.[9] In 1997, FC Kochin became the first South Indian club to get their hands on the Durand Cup.[26][27]

Mahindra United FC won the first title of the 3rd millennium and their second time, following its 1998 win.[28] In 2006, Osian's became the first civilian organisation to co-host the Durand Cup on a 5-year deal with DFTS until 2010, in order to develop the tournament and revive the interest in the game.[29][30] In the following years however, clubs from Goa produced a run of winning form with clubs like Salgaocar FC, Sporting Clube de Goa, Dempo SC and Churchill Brothers FC Goa.[31][32][33] Churchill Brothers FC Goa won the tournament thrice in 2007, 2009 and 2011, and narrowly missed a hat-trick, as runners-up in 2008.[34][35][36] Since 2000, only twice the tournament was won by the Indian Armed Force teams – Army XI in 2005 and Army Green in 2016.[31][37] In 2013, Mohammedan SC would win the tournament for the second time after 73 years and for the first time since the independence of India. Due to lack of adequate response in New Delhi, the following year Durand Cup was relocated to Goa, under the instructions of Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar.[38] The significance of the tournament had dissipated with time but the Indian Armed Forces kept the Durand Tournament tradition alive for decades. The tournament had been scrapped-off from the Indian football calendar a number of times without any significant reason, for instance in the years 2015, 2017 and 2018.[39]

In 2019, the tournament was jointly organised by the Armed Forces and the Government of West Bengal, thus relocated to West Bengal in favour for higher attendance figures. In that edition, Gokulam Kerala FC became the second football club from Kerala to win the tournament.[26] In 2020, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[40][41] In 2021, the Armed Forces decided to host the tournament in West Bengal, jointly with the Government of West Bengal, till 2025.[42][43] As the significance of the tournament depraved, usually the participating Indian Super League (ISL) clubs would field their respective reserve squads, in order to focus on the more important league games. However, at 130th edition of the tournament, organisers took an effort to revive the legacy and most clubs decided to field full-strength squads. FC Goa became fourth Goan club to win the tournament by defeating Mohammedan SC.[44] The following year, AIFF decided to make Durand Cup a mandatory tournament for all ISL clubs to participate since a club must play at least 27 domestic games to be eligible for AFC competitions, therefore AFC for the first time recognised Durand Cup as one of the cup tournaments of India. Hence, in the 131st edition, for the first time, all the clubs of ISL participated in the tournament along with five invited clubs from I-League and the usual four armed force teams.[45] Due to expansion of the competition, the matches were hosted at more than one venue, alongside Kolkata, which was unprecedented till then.[46]Recent editions of the Durand Cup have yielded notable outcomes, with finals largely hosted at Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata. In the 131st edition (2022), Bengaluru FC defeated Mumbai City FC 2–1 to secure their maiden title.[47] In the 132nd edition (2023), Mohun Bagan Super Giant overcame Emami East Bengal FC 1–0, ending a 23-year title drought and claiming their 17th championship.[48] In the 133rd edition (2024), NorthEast United FC defeated Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the final to win their first major title.[49] In the 134th edition (2025), NorthEast United FC successfully defended their crown by defeating Diamond Harbour FC, thereby becoming back-to-back champions.[50]

Competition format

While there is no record of the competition's format in its earlier days, currently the Durand Cup is played in two phases: round-robin and knockouts.[51]

A total of 24 teams feature in the group stage round.[52] Each team is allowed to have a maximum of 30 players to complete their rosters.

After the round-robin schedule, top teams from each group would progress into the knockout stage, which culminates with 2 teams facing each other in the finals.[53]

Trophies

Unlike any other football competition around the world, the winning team is presented with three trophies:[54]

  • Durand Cup (nicknamed The Masterpiece): the original tournament trophy which became a rolling trophy since 1965[55]
  • Shimla Trophy (nicknamed The Artistry): donated by the residents of Shimla in 1904 to show their passion and support for the tournament, the trophy began to be awarded in rolling since 1965[56]
  • President's Cup (nicknamed The Pride): a rolling trophy that replaced the Viceroy's Trophy post-independence by the President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad[57]

Finals

Pre-independence era (1888–1947)

YearWinnersScoreRunners-upVenueRef.
1888Royal Scots Fusiliers
2–1
Highland Light Infantry[58][59][60]
1889Highland Light Infantry
8–1
Shimla Rifles (2nd Punjab Volunteer Rifle Corps)
1890
0–0
4–2
Royal Irish Fusiliers
1891King's Own Scottish Borderers
2–1
East Lancashire Regiment
1892
3–0
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
1893Highland Light Infantry
2–1
1894
1–0
Royal Scots Fusiliers
1895
1–0
Somerset Light Infantry
1896Somerset Light Infantry
6–1
Black Watch
1897Black Watch
0–0
4–0
Shimla Rifles (2nd Punjab Volunteer Rifle Corps)
1898
2–0
North Staffordshire Regiment
1899
2–0
Yorkshire Regiment
1900South Wales Borderers
2–0
East Lancashire Regiment
1901
2–1
South Staffordshire Regiment
1902Hampshire Regiment
2–1
East Lancashire Regiment
1903Royal Irish Rifles
1–0
Queen's Regiment
1904North Staffordshire Regiment
2–0
Black Watch
1905Royal Dragoons
1–0
Dorset Regiment
1906Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)
3–0
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment
1907
1–0
Royal Welch Fusiliers
1908Lancashire Fusiliers
2–0
Royal Irish Rifles
1909
2–1
King's Regiment
1910Royal Scots
1–0
King's Royal Rifle Corps
1911Black Watch
0–0
1–0
Lancashire Fusiliers
1912Royal Scots
1–0
Lancashire Fusiliers
1913Lancashire Fusiliers
1–0
King's Royal Rifle Corps
1914–1919Tournament not held due to World War I[59]
1920Black Watch
2–1
Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)[58][59]
1921Worcestershire Regiment
1–0
Royal Fusiliers
1922Lancashire Fusiliers
1–0
Royal Field Artillery
1923Cheshire Regiment
1–0
Essex Regiment
1924Worcestershire Regiment
1–1
2–0
1925Sherwood Foresters
3–1
Worcestershire Regiment
1926Durham Light Infantry
1–0
Sherwood Foresters
1927York and Lancaster Regiment
2–0
Eastern Railway
1928Sherwood Foresters
4–2
York and Lancaster Regiment
1929York and Lancaster Regiment
3–1
East Yorkshire Regiment
1930
2–0
Royal Leicestershire Regiment
1931Devonshire Regiment
0–0
3–1
Border Regiment
1932King's Shropshire Light Infantry
2–1
Devonshire Regiment
1933
2–1
Royal Leicestershire Regiment
1934Royal Corps of Signals
3–1
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
1935Border Regiment
1–0
Royal Norfolk Regiment
1936Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
2–1
Green Howards
1937Border Regiment
3–1
Royal Scots
1938South Wales Borderers
1–0
Northwestern Railway Loco SC (Lahore)
1939Tournament not held due to World War II[59]
1940MohammedanRoyal Warwickshire Regiment[61][62]
1941–1947Tournament not held due to World War II & the Partition of India[59]

Post-independence era (1947–present)

YearWinnersScoreRunners-upVenueRef.
1947–1950Tournament not held post Partition of India[59]
1950Hyderabad City Police
2–2
1–0
Mohun Bagan[63]
1951East BengalRajasthan Armed Constabulary[64]
1952Hyderabad City Police[65]
1953Mohun Bagan
4–0
National Defence Academy[66]
1954Hyderabad City Police
1–1
1–0
Hindustan Aircraft Limited[67]
1955Madras Regimental Centre
0–0
0–0
3–2
Indian Air Force[58][68]
1956East BengalHyderabad City Police[58]
1957Hyderabad City Police
2–1
East Bengal[58]
1958Madras Regimental Centre
1–1
2–0
Gorkha Brigade[58][68]
1959Mohun Bagan
1–1
3–1
Mohammedan[58]
1960Mohun Bagan and
East Bengal
[58][59]
1961Andhra Pradesh Police
1–0
Mohun Bagan
1962Tournament not held due to Sino-Indian War[69]
1963Mohun Bagan
0–0
2–0
Andhra Pradesh Police[58][59]
1964
2–0
East Bengal
1965
2–0
Punjab Police
1966Gorkha Brigade
2–0
Sikh Regimental Centre
1967East BengalBengal Nagpur Railway
1968Border Security Force
1–0
East Bengal
1969Gorkha Brigade
1–0
Border Security Force
1970East BengalMohun Bagan
1971Border Security Force
0–0
1–0
Leaders Club
1972East BengalMohun Bagan
1973Border Security Force
2–1
Rajasthan Armed Constabulary
1974Mohun Bagan
3–2
JCT
1975Border Security Force
1–0
1976Border Security Force and
JCT
1–1
0–0
1977Mohun Bagan
1–1
2–1
JCT
1978East BengalMohun Bagan
1979Mohun Bagan
1–0
Punjab Police
1980
1–0
Mohammedan
1981Border Security Force
1–0
JCT
1982Mohun Bagan and
East Bengal
0–0
1983JCT
1–1
2–1
Mohun Bagan[70]
1984Mohun Bagan
1–0
East Bengal[58][59]
1985
0–0
JCT
1986
1–0
East Bengal
1987JCT
1–0
Mohun Bagan
1988Border Security Force
3–2
East Bengal
1989East Bengal
0–0
Mohun Bagan
1990
3–2
Mahindra & Mahindra
1991
1–1
Border Security Force
1992JCT
1–0
Mohammedan
1993East Bengal
1–0
Punjab State Electricity Board
1994Mohun Bagan
1–0
East Bengal[71]
1995East Bengal
0–0
Tata Football Academy[58][59]
1996JCT
1–0
Al-Naft
1997Kochin
3–1
Mohun Bagan[27]
1998Mahindra & Mahindra
2–1
East Bengal[58][59]
1999Salgaocar
0–0
2000Mohun Bagan
1–1 (Golden goal)
Mahindra United[72]
2001Mahindra United
5–0
Churchill Brothers[73]
2002East BengalArmy XI[74]
2003Salgaocar
1–1
East Bengal[75]
2004East BengalMohun Bagan[76]
2005Army XI
0–0
Sporting Goa[77]
2006DempoJCT[78]
2007Churchill Brothers
1–0
Mahindra United[79]
2008Mahindra United
3–2
Churchill Brothers[80]
2009Churchill BrothersMohun Bagan[81]
2010Chirag United
1–0
JCT[58]
2011Churchill Brothers
0–0
Prayag United[82]
2012Air IndiaDodsal[83]
2013MohammedanONGC[84]
2014SalgaocarPune[85]
2015Tournament not held
2016Army GreenNEROCA[86]
2017–2018Tournament not held
2019Gokulam Kerala
2–1
Mohun Bagan[26]
2020Tournament not held due to COVID-19 pandemic[87]
2021GoaMohammedan[44]
2022BengaluruMumbai City[88]
2023Mohun Bagan SGEast Bengal[89][90]
2024NorthEast UnitedMohun Bagan SG[91]
2025Diamond Harbour[92]

Performance by teams

TeamChampionsRunners-upLast win
Mohun Bagan SG17132023
East Bengal16112004
Border Security Force721988
JCT571996
Black Watch521920
Highland Light Infantry511895
Hyderabad City Police /
Andhra Pradesh Police
431961
Lancashire Fusiliers421922
Mahindra & Mahindra /
Mahindra United
332008
Churchill Brothers322011
York and Lancaster Regiment311930
Salgaocar302014
South Wales Borderers301938
Mohammedan242013
Gorkha Brigade211969
Border Regiment211937
Sherwood Foresters211928
Worcestershire Regiment211924
Royal Scots211912
Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)211907
NorthEast United202025
Madras Regimental Centre201958
King's Shropshire Light Infantry201933
King's Own Scottish Borderers201892
Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders131936
Chirag United / Prayag United112010
Army XI / Army Red112005
Devonshire Regiment111931
North Staffordshire Regiment111904
Royal Irish Rifles111903
Somerset Light Infantry111896
Royal Scots Fusiliers111888
Bengaluru102022
Goa102021
Gokulam Kerala102019
Army Green102016
Air India102012
Dempo102006
Kochin101997
Royal Corps of Signals101934
Durham Light Infantry101926
Cheshire Regiment101923
Royal Dragoons101905
Hampshire Regiment101902

Records

See also

Notes

  1. ^ There are numerous claims in the list of oldest football competitions, listed as per national cup competitions, following the FA Cup (1871), the Scottish Cup (1874), the Welsh Cup (1877) and the Irish Cup (1881).

References

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