The Super Cup returns after a gap of four years, as India's premier football clubs gear up for a second cup competition to close out the season, having started with the Durand Cup in August.
The tournament begins on Monday, April 3, with Rajasthan United facing NEROCA in a first qualifying round fixture. The final is scheduled for April 25.
Super Cup 2023 - News, Schedule, Scores, Results, Points table
Here's all you need to know:
What is the history of the Super Cup?
The tournament has only been held twice before, in 2018 and 2019. Bengaluru FC were the inaugural winners, beating East Bengal 4-1 in the final in Bhubaneswar. The following year, FC Goa beat Chennaiyin FC 2-1 in the final.
Coincidentally, Bengaluru and Goa were on the losing side in the Indian Super League final in those years. Is that a sign for Simon Grayson's Bengaluru this season?
Which teams are in the competition?
The 11 ISL clubs and I-League champions RoundGlass Punjab have a direct entry into the group stages, where they will be joined by four other teams from the nine I-League clubs in the fray. The I-League's bottom two clubs, Kenkre FC and Sudeva Delhi, will not compete in the Super Cup.
Where is it happening?
This year's tournament will be held in Kerala, but the Kerala Blasters' home in Kochi will not be hosting any games. The EMS Stadium in Kozhikode and the Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri will play host to the 21 teams in the fray.
What is the competition format?
There are two rounds of qualifiers, due to nine teams vying for four spots in the group stages. The first qualifying round will see just one game happen, which is the tournament opener featuring Rajasthan United and NEROCA.
All matches in the qualifying rounds will happen at Manjeri, with work reportedly still being undertaken on the pitch in Kozhikode.
Second Qualifying Round Fixtures
Qualifier 1 (April 5): Sreenidhi Deccan v Rajasthan United/NEROCA
Qualifier 2 (April 5): Gokulam Kerala v Mohammedan SC
Qualifier 3 (April 6): TRAU v Aizawl FC
Qualifier 4 (April 6): Real Kashmir v Churchill Brothers
The Groups
Group A: Kerala Blasters, Bengaluru FC, RoundGlass Punjab, and winner of Qualifier 1
Group B: Hyderabad FC, Odisha FC, East Bengal, and winner of Qualifier 3
Group C: FC Goa, ATK Mohun Bagan, Jamshedpur FC, and winner of Qualifier 2
Group D: Mumbai City FC, Chennaiyin FC, NorthEast United, and winner of Qualifier 4
Only the top-ranked teams will make it out of each group, with the winners of Group A facing the winners of Group C, and the winners of Groups B and D facing each other in the two semifinals respectively.
So, if Bengaluru and ATKMB win their groups, we will have a repeat of the ISL final in the first semifinal of the Super Cup.
What should we watch out for?
April 16. EMS Stadium. Kerala Blasters v Bengaluru FC.
After everything that went on at the Kanteerava in that infamous ISL knockout fixture (you know, the walkout, the subsequent fine for the Blasters and the ban for Ivan Vukomanovic), you can imagine that there won't be a hearty welcome for the Sunil Chhetri-led side in Kerala.
Additionally, Bengaluru and the Blasters are drawn in a group with I-League champions RoundGlass Punjab and could be joined by I-League runners-up Sreenidhi Deccan, so that is a group to keep a keen eye on.
There are also some swansongs to note. This will be Manolo Marquez's last tournament leading Hyderabad FC, and Stephen Constantine's last at East Bengal. Odisha FC have already sacked their coach Josep Gombau, with Clifford Miranda set to take charge of the side for the Super Cup. Hyderabad, Odisha, and East Bengal have all been drawn in Group B.
Both FC Goa and Jamshedpur FC, after disappointing ISL seasons, have been drawn with champions ATK Mohun Bagan, while Chennaiyin FC and NorthEast United - who also had forgettable ISL seasons - have been drawn with league shield winners Mumbai City FC. While ATKMB and Mumbai City are favourites to top those groups, what's a cup competition without an upset or two?
Gokulam Kerala were two-time defending I-League champions heading into this season, but they finished a disappointing 13 points behind champions RoundGlass Punjab. With the hope of salvaging their season, they will play their matches at their home ground in Kozhikode, should they get past Mohammedan SC in the qualifying round, post which they will go into Group C with ATKMB, Goa and Jamshedpur.
What about the squads?
As is the norm in the ISL, the teams can register six foreign players in their squads (including one Asian), with any four of them allowed to be on the pitch at any given time.
The teams are expected to pick full-strength squads for the Super Cup, but there are some important absentees as well. Kerala Blasters will be without their talismanic attacker Adrian Luna, who has been granted permission to skip the tournament. Bengaluru will be without Brazilian defender Alan Costa, who has returned to his homeland following the expiry of his loan deal.
Where can we watch it?
The Super Cup (April 3 to 25) can be watched on Sony Sports and FanCode. However, the broadcast will begin only from the group stages, not the qualifiers.