The IFA Shield 2026 will be the 126th edition of the historic competition, starting on 23 September 2026. Six teams will battle it out for the honorific silverware, divided into two groups.
Record winners and Last edition’s runners-up, East Bengal FC, will take on Calcutta Customs and Punjab FC in Group A, whereas Group B will consist of Sreenidi Deccan, NorthEast United and defending champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant. The battle for the prize will be trickier than ever, as the Shield will be played during the international break once again, leaving teams without players reporting for national duty. Only teams that manage to reach the final can expect some service from those who have joined the Blue Tigers camp. Hence, it will be challenging for the Kolkata giants if they are to face off each other once more at the showpiece with the bulk of their Indian stars not available for the 2026 IFA Shield group stage and the semifinals. However, they are not alone, as the other ISL sides in the competition, NorthEast United and Punjab FC, are facing the same issue.
Here are the full squad lists of teams participating in IFA Shield 2026:
Group A
East Bengal FC
Goalkeepers: Phurba Lachenpa, Prabhsukhan Gill, Subrata Santa, Raunak Ghosh, Gourab Shaw
Defenders: Hardik Bhatt, Anwar Ali, Lalchungnunga, Boris Singh, Narender Gahlot, Diego Zivulic, Jay Gupta, Sandip Mandi, Suvo Biswas, Monotosh Chakladar, Ankan Bhattacharjee, Sonam Lhokham, Bikram Pradhan, Jay Baz, Soumik Koley, Chaku Mandi, Joseph Justin
Midfielders: Rohit Kumar, PV Vishnu, Chris Ikonomodis, Dani Ramirez, Rohit Danu, Raynier Fernandez, Souvik Chakraborty, Jeakson Singh, Bipin Singh, Mohammad Asif, Ananthu NS, Arunlal M, Sanjib Ghosh, Rapgay Lepcha, Tanmay Das, Laikhuram Ricky, Fazeen Majeed, Dilip Orawn, Mohamad Rashid, Batas Murmu, Bijay Murmu, Debayan Hazra
Forwards: Edmund Lalrindika, David Lalhlansanga, Jesin TK, Devadath S, Uttam Hansda, Mohamed Bilal, Akash Hemram, Arghya Sarkar, Rabi Das
Head Coach: Antonio Lopez Habas
Calcutta Customs (TBD)
Punjab FC
Goalkeepers: Arshdeep Singh, Muheet Shabir, Aryaman Bengani
Defenders: Patrick Bahanack, Muhammad Uvais, Nishchal Chandan, Thoungamba Singh, Bijoy Varghese, Suresh Meitei, Khaimin Lhungdim
Midfielders: Mohammad Inam, Nikhil Prabhu, Ricky Shabong, Manglenhang Kipgen, Vinit Rai, Leon Augustine, Princeton Rebello, Singamayum Shami, Bikash Singh, Ninthoi Meetei
Forwards: Diguenho, Messi Bouli, Alfred Planas, Gurkirat Singh, Muhammad Suhail, Vishal Yadav
Head Coach: Pavlos Dermitzakis
Group B
Mohun Bagan Super Giant
Goalkeepers: Vishal Kaith, Syed Zahid, Priyansh Dubey
Defenders: Rahul Bheke, Raj Basfore, Mehtab Singh, Subhasish Bose, Sahajid Gazi, Alberto Rodriguez, Abhishek Singh, Alex Saji, Asish Rai, Robilal Mandi, Umar Muhthar, Roshan Singh
Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Samir Zeljkovic, Miguel Ferreira, Abhishek Suryavanshi, Sahal Samad, Deepak Tangri, Tanmoy Ghosh, Apuia Ralte, Rohit Singh, Sandeep Malik
Forwards: Liston Colaco, Lallianzuala Chhangte, Manvir Singh, Sayan Banerjee, Kiyan Nassiri, Lee Erwin, Jamie Maclaren, Bivan Jyoti Laskar, Dejan Drazic, Suhail Bhat
Head Coach: Panagotis Dimpleris
Sreenidi Deccan
Goalkeepers: Kamaljit Singh, Bhaskar Roy, Aryan Lamba, Adhil Faizal
Defenders: Muhammad Hammad, Jagdeep Singh, Hadi Idrissou, Deepak DP, Gurmukh Singh, Abhash Thapa, Pritam Kotal
Midfielders: Pronay Halder, Lalthankhuma, Ajay Chhetri, Phalguni Singh, Pape Gassama, Lalromawia, Roly Bonevacia, Abhijith K, Brandon Vanlalremdika, Adriano Castanheira, Rashid CK
Forwards: Jerry Mawihmingthanga, Fabrice Kah, Rochharzela, David Castañeda, Vitinho, Paulo Cézar, Lalbiakdika
Head Coach: Antonio Rueda
NorthEast United
Goalkeepers: Gurmeet Singh, Dipesh Chauhan, Mohanraj K
Defenders: Dinesh Singh, Pramveer, Eneko Satrústegui, Shubham Poonia, Buanthanglun Samte, Tondonba Singh, Nikhil Barla, Asheer Akhtar, Robin Yadav
Midfielders: Mayakkannan Muthu, Macarton Louis Nickson, Mohammed Arshaf, Thoiba Singh, Mark Zothanpuia, Danny Meitei, Antonio Moyano, Nikola Ninkovic, Redeem Tlang, Abdul Rabeeh
Forwards: Parthib Gogoi, Ethyan González, Alaeddine Ajaraie, Jithin MS, Lalrinzuala Lalbiaknia, CK Aman, Tanbir Dey
Head Coach: Juan Pedro Benali