The 2025 IFA Shield is set to be the 125th edition of the third-oldest football tournament in Indian football history and will be organised for the first time after a three-year gap. The standoff in the operation of the top-flight league has also allowed the competition to make a revival. Once an iconic competition with significant legacy, the current edition aims to recapture its greatness with six top teams participating. The teams are divided into three groups, with the winners advancing to the final held at Salt Lake Stadium to compete for the trophy on October 18, 2025.
Kishore Bharoti Krirangan, Bankimanjali Stadium, and Kalyani Stadium are the other venues for the group stages of the competition, which start on October 8, 2025. IFA invited additional teams to participate in the tournament, including the holders, Real Kashmir, but they declined. Bhutanese club Paro FC was also offered to compete as guests, but it did not materialise.
The tournament will feature teams from the Indian Super League and I-League, including the two esteemed Kolkata giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. The Red and Gold are the record holders of the IFA Shield, having won it 29 times since their first success in 1943, during the pre-independence era. They are placed alongside I-League outfits Namdhari and Sreenidi Deccan in Group A, having also faced them in two other cup competitions. East Bengal will be a top favourite to win the Shield after their excellent cup runs recently, reaching the Durand Cup final in 2023, winning the Super Cup last year and making it to the semifinals this year of the former competition.
On the other hand, the Mariners, their arch-rivals, will want to spoil the party to win a sixth silverware in just two years and a first IFA Shield since 2003. The Green and Maroons are the second-most successful team in the tournament's history, with a total of 20 titles. They made history in 1911 by becoming the first all-Indian team to defeat a British regiment and were the first club to win the title in independent India in 1947. The most successful club in Indian football will be paired with United SC and two-time I-League winners Gokulam Kerala in a strong Group B.
IFA Shield 2025 Group & Fixtures
Group A
East Bengal FC
Namdhari
Sreenidi Deccan
8 October 2025
East Bengal FC vs Namdhari - Kalyani Stadium, Kalyani (15:00)
11 October 2025
Namdhari vs Sreenidi Deccan - Kalyani Stadium, Kalyani (15:00)
14 October 2025
Sreenidi Deccan vs East Bengal FC - Kishore Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata (15:00)
Group B
Mohun Bagan Super Giant
Gokulam Kerala
United SC
9 October 2025
Gokulam Kerala vs Mohun Bagan - Kishore Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata (15:00)
12 October 2025
United SC vs Gokulam Kerala - Kalyani Stadium, Kalyani (15:00)
15 October 2025
United SC vs Mohun Bagan - Kishore Bharati Krirangan, Kolkata (15:00)
Final
18 October 2025
Group A winner vs Group B winner - Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata (18:00)
Check out the IFA Shield 2025 Squad List of All Teams
