Jamshedpur and Shillong will be new venues for Durand Cup, starting in Kolkata on July 27

The domestic season-opening Durand Cup football tournament will be held from July 27 to August 31 across four venues, with the Indian Super League, I-League and other invited teams competing in it. The 133rd edition of Asia’s oldest tournament will see 43 matches played in a round-robin, league and knockout format, with the opening match and final scheduled at the iconic Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) in Kolkata. The 24 participating teams will be divided into six groups. Eight teams – the first in the group and the two best second-placed teams – will qualify for the knockout stage.

As last year, international teams are expected to participate this year as well, organizers said on Tuesday.

Continuing with its commitment to spread the tournament further across the East and Northeast, two new cities – Jamshedpur and Shillong – have been added as venues this year.

The matches will be held in Kokrajhar, Assam, for the second consecutive year, in addition to Kolkata, which has been the venue for the past five years.

Kolkata will host three groups, while Kokrajhar, Shillong and Jamshedpur will host one group each.

ISL team Mohun Bagan Super Giant are the defending champions, having won the tournament for the 17th time, the most by any team.

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