The 2025-26 Indian football season has been put into chaos with the future of the Indian Super League up in the air as league owners FSDL and the governing body AIFF are unable to come to terms with the renewal of the Master Rights Agreement (MEA) contract, which runs down in December this year. The decision also relies on the Supreme Court's final ruling on the new AIFF constitution, which is scheduled for July 18. Until then, the issue is unlikely to be resolved. As a result, the fiasco over the continuation of the top-flight league has affected other competitions, especially the Durand Cup, where ISL clubs participate each year, from 2022, treating it as a pre-season to prepare for the ISL. With uncertainty surrounding the league, seven ISL clubs, Chennaiyin FC, FC Goa, Kerala Blasters FC, Bengaluru FC, Hyderabad FC, Odisha FC and Mumbai City FC have decided to withdraw from the Durand Cup, jeopardising the staging of the competition this year.
Despite that, the Army has stood firm on organising the tournament with the ISL clubs that have confirmed their participation, foreign invitees and other new participants from across the Indian football leagues. Even after reports of withdrawing from the tournament, Mohun Bagan Super Giant has been included following a late negotiation with the other two Kolkata giants, Emami East Bengal FC and Mohammedan SC, also in the mix. However, the Mariners’ team selection will depend on the Supreme Court's verdict on ISL’s future. Jamshedpur FC, Punjab FC and Durand Cup holders Northeast United are the other ISL teams participating in the competition.
The new entries in the tournament include 1 Ladakh FC, South United FC from Bengaluru and I-League 2 winners Diamond Harbour FC from West Bengal. Initially, the Indonesian Army were set to participate in the tournament but later withdrew their name. They will be replaced by Malaysian Armed Forces team.
For the first time in its 137-year-old history, the Durand Cup will be hosted across five states: West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, and Manipur. The games will be played in six venues, with Kolkata hosting it in more than one stadium, including the Salt Lake Stadium, where, like the previous years, the tournament final will be hosted on 23 August 2025. The 24 teams are divided into six groups, with the winners and the two best-ranked teams moving into the quarterfinals. The 2025 Durand Cup will kick off on July 23, with East Bengal FC taking on South United in the curtain raiser at the Salt Lake Stadium.
Durand Cup 2025 Teams and Groups
In the table below check the list of all 24 clubs participating in Durand Cup 2025 with their groups.
Team | Region |
East Bengal | Kolkata |
Shillong Lajong | Shillong |
Jamshedpur FC | Jamshedpur |
Mohammedan SC | Kolkata |
Indian Air Force | New Delhi |
Mohun Bagan | Kolkata |
NorthEast United | Guwahati |
Punjab FC | Mohali |
Tribhuvan Army | Kathmandu |
Namdhari FC | Ludhiana |
South United FC | Bengaluru |
Real Kashmir | Srinagar |
Indian Army | New Delhi |
NEROCA | Imphal |
Bodoland FC | Kokrajhar |
ITBP | Baddowal |
Diamond Harbour FC | Diamond Harbour |
Rangdajied United | Shillong |
Morning Star FC | Diphu |
Indian Navy | Kochi |
Malaysian Army | Kuala Lumpur |
BSF | Jalandhar |
TRAU | Imphal |
1 Ladakh FC | Leh |
Durand Cup 2025 Schedule: Group Stage
Group A Fixtures
East Bengal FC | Indian Air Force | Namdhari FC | South United FC |
16-time Durand Cup winners East Bengal will be favourites to top Group A after being grouped with Indian Air Force, I-League outfit Namdhari FC and Karnataka-based side South United. The group games will be played at two venues in Salt Lake Stadium and Kishore Bharati Krirangan.
23 July 2025
East Bengal vs South United - Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata (17:30)
27 July 2025
Indian Air Force vs South United - Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata (19:00)
30 July 2025
Namdhari FC vs South United - Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata (19:00)
3 August 2025
Namdhari FC vs Indian Air Force - Kishore Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata (19:00)
6 August 2025
East Bengal vs Indian Air Force - Kishore Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata (19:00)
10 August 2025
East Bengal vs Namdhari FC - Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata (19:00)
Group B Fixtures
Mohun Bagan Super Giant | Mohammedan SC | Diamond Harbour FC | BSF |
Three Kolkata sides will battle it out in Group B with two giants, record winners Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Mohammedan SC, taking on third division winners Diamond Harbour FC, alongside BSF, the fourth member in the group. Like Group A, the group games will be played at the same two venues.
28 July 2025
Mohammedan SC vs Diamond Harbour - Kishore Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata (19:00)
31 July 2025
Mohun Bagan vs Mohammedan SC - Kishore Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata (16:00)
1 August 2025
Diamond Harbour vs BSF - Kishore Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata (19:00)
4 August 2025
Mohun Bagan vs BSF - Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata (19:00)
7 August 2025
BSF vs Mohammedan - Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata (16:00)
9 August 2025
Diamond Harbour vs Mohun Bagan - Kishore Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata (19:00)
Group C Fixtures
Jamshedpur FC | Indian Army | 1 Ladakh FC | Tribhuvan Army |
Jamshedpur FC will host Group C, with all matches taking place at the JRD Tata Sports Complex, commonly known as the Furnace. Indian Army, 1 Ladakh FC and Tribhuvan Army are the opposition in their group.
24 July 2025
Jamshedpur FC vs Tribhuvan Army (17:30)
29 July 2025
Jamshedpur FC vs Indian Army (16:00)
3 August 2025
Tribhuvan Army vs 1 Ladakh (16:00)
5 August 2025
Indian Army vs Tribhuvan Army (19:00)
8 August 2025
Jamshedpur FC vs 1 Ladakh (16:00)
11 August 2025
Indian Army vs 1 Ladakh (16:00)
Group D Fixtures
Punjab FC | ITBP | Bodoland FC | Karbi Anglong Morning Star FC |
Group D consists of Punjab FC, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police or ITBP football team and the two Assamese sides, Bodoland from Kokrajhar and Morning Star from Diphu. The games of this group will be played in the SAI Stadium in Kokrajhar.
27 July 2025
ITBP vs Karbi Anglong Morning Star (16:00)
31 July 2025
Bodoland vs Karbi Anglong Morning Star (19:00)
3 August 2025
Karbi Anglong Morning Star vs Punjab FC (16:00)
6 August 2025
ITBP vs Punjab FC (16:00)
9 August 2025
Bodoland vs Punjab FC (16:00)
12 August 2025
ITBP vs Bodoland (19:00)
Group E Fixtures
Shillong Lajong | NorthEast United | Rangdajied United | Malaysian Army |
The holders, NorthEast United, are clubbed in Group E alongside the I-League outfit Shillong Lajong and Rangdajied United are making it a Meghalaya derby. One of the foreign teams, the Tribhuvan Army from Nepal, is also in the group and making their third straight appearance in the contest. All games in this group will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong.
26 July 2025
Shillong Lajong vs Malaysian Army (16:00)
29 July 2025
Shillong Lajong vs Rangdajied United (19:00)
3 August 2025
NorthEast United vs Malaysian Army (19:00)
5 August 2025
Rangdajied United vs Malaysian Army (16:00)
8 August 2025
Shillong Lajong vs NorthEast United (19:00)
11 August 2025
NorthEast United vs Rangdajied United (19:00)
Group F Fixtures
Real Kashmir | NEROCA | TRAU | Indian Navy |
The two heavyweights from Manipur, NEROCA FC and TRAU, will face each other in Group F, with an exciting derby on the cards. Real Kashmir and the Indian Navy football team will also throw their challenge into the fight to take the top spot. Khuman Lampak Main Stadium will host all the games in this group
30 July 2025
TRAU vs NEROCA (16:00)
1 August 2025
Indian Navy vs Real Kashmir (16:00)
4 August 2025
TRAU vs Real Kashmir (16:00)
7 August 2025
NEROCA vs Indian Navy (19:00)
10 August 2025
NEROCA vs Real Kashmir (16:00)
12 August 2025
TRAU vs Indian Navy (16:00)
Knockout Stage
Quarterfinals
16 August 2025
TBD vs TBD - SAI Stadium, Kokrajhar (TBD)
TBD vs TBD - Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Shillong (TBD)
17 August 2025
TBD vs TBD - JRD Tata Sports Complex, Jamshedpur (TBD)
TBD vs TBD - Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata (TBD)
Semifinals
19 August 2025
Winner of Quarterfinal 1 vs Winner of Quarterfinal 2 - Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Shillong (TBD)
20 August 2025
Winner of Quarterfinal 3 vs Winner of Quarterfinal 4 - Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata (TBD)
Final
23 August 2025
Winner Semifinal 1 vs Winner Semifinal 2 - Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata (TBD)
