The AIFF Super Cup, popularly the Super Cup, is an Indian football competition held after the end of each season. It is contested between the champions of the Indian Super League and the holders of the Federation Cup. Until 2025–26, the competition was formatted as the annual premier cup competition in India. It was founded on February 19, 2018 as a replacement for the Federation Cup. it is organised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The competition was provisionally open to all clubs in the Indian Super League and the Indian Football League, the top two divisions of the Indian football league system respectively. The winners qualified for the AFC Champions League Two. Goa were the last holders, the first team to win the title thrice.
History On 19 February 2018, the All India Football Federation announced the creation of the Super Cup as a reformed Federation Cup, India's main knockout football tournament. The qualifiers for the inaugural recherished tournament were held between 15–16 March. The tournament proper then commenced on 31 March and concluded with the final on 20 April 2018. Bengaluru emerged as the winners of the inaugural edition of the recherished tournament. They defeated East Bengal 4–1 in the final.
In the second edition, seven I-League clubs, namely Minerva Punjab, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, NEROCA, Gokulam Kerala, Aizawl and Churchill Brothers withdrew from the competition citing "unfair treatment to I-League clubs by the AIFF."
From 2020 to 2022, the competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From the 2024 edition the competition is known as the Kalinga Super Cup, as part of the title sponsorship agreement with the Government of Odisha. In the 2025–26 edition, it was held in the initial phase of the season, after the Durand Cup, unlike previous editions.
Competition format Until 2019, the competition proper was a 16-team knockout tournament. In the event of a match being drawn after the group stage, the extra time was played, followed by a penalty shoot-out if required. In 2024, the competition comprised 16 clubs in group stage. All clubs in the top tier Indian Super League entered the group stage, and the I-League clubs played qualifiers for the four remaining spots. During the group stage, clubs were divided into four groups of four, playing against each other in a single round-robin format. At the end of the group stage, the club with the most points qualified to the semi-finals. The competition then culminated with the final to determine the champions, presented with the trophy and a spot in the AFC Champions League Two qualifiers.
Champions Super Cup finals Season Champion Score Venue Top scorer 2018 Bengaluru 4–1 , Bhubaneswar Sunil Chhetri (6) 2019 Goa 2–1 Chennaiyin Coro (5) Tournament suspended due to the COVID-19 and India's international fixtures 2023 Odisha 2–1 Bengaluru EMS Stadium, Kozhikode 2024 3–2 Odisha Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar Cleiton Silva (5) 2025 3–0 Jamshedpur Borja Herrera (4)2025–26 0–0 East Bengal Fatorda Stadium, Fatorda Koldo Obieta (3)
Performance by club Club Wins Winning years Total finals appearances Goa 3 2019, 2025, 2025–26 0 3 Bengaluru 1 2018 1 2 Odisha 1 2023 1 2 1 2024 2 3 Chennaiyin 0 – 1 1 Jamshedpur 0 – 1 1
List of winning coaches Season Winning Club Club2018 Albert Roca Bengaluru Khalid Jamil 2019 Sergio Lobera Goa John Gregory Chennaiyin2023 Clifford Miranda Odisha Simon Grayson Bengaluru2024 Carles Cuadrat Sergio Lobera Odisha2025 Manolo Márquez Khalid Jamil Jamshedpur2025–26 Óscar Bruzón East Bengal
Top scorers Rank Player Goals Years Club(s) 1 Sunil Chhetri 11 12 Bengaluru 2 Wilmar Jordán 8 7 2023–2024 NorthEast United, Punjab Diego Maurício 8 10 Odisha 4 Coro 7 7 2018–2019 Goa Nandhakumar Sekar 7 14 2023–2025 Odisha, East Bengal 6 Ansumana Kromah 6 8 2018–2023 East Bengal, Churchill Brothers 7 Miku 5 5 2018–2019 Bengaluru 5 6 2023–2024 Cleiton Silva 5 8 2023–2024 East Bengal
Sponsorship and media coverage Sponsorship The title sponsor for the Super Cup was Hero MotoCorp until the 2023 edition. The next title sponsor was the Government of Odisha with the tournament being known as Kalinga Super Cup.
Period Title sponsor Tournament 2018–2023 Hero MotoCorp Hero AIFF Super Cup 2024–2025 Government of Odisha Odisha Tourism Kalinga AIFF Super Cup 2025–2026 none AIFF Super Cup
Media coverage Star Sports was the official broadcaster for the AIFF Super Cup, with all matches being broadcast on the channel, and JioHotstar was the official online streaming partner of the tournament. In 2023, Sony Sports and FanCode became the official media partners.
+ Television Period Broadcaster Region 2018–2019 Star Sports India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka Fox Sports Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam ATN Channel Canada ESPN+ United States of America OSN Sports Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen Star Gold UK England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales SuperSport South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa Eurosport Europe ESPN Africa Parts of Africa 2024–2026 Star Sports India
+ Online streaming Period Broadcaster Region 2018–2019 Disney+ Hotstar India Worldwide 2023 FanCode India 2024 JioCinema India 2025–2026 JioHotstar India
Prize money + Super Cup money distribution Position/Award Prize money (INR) Champions ₹25,00,000 Runners-up ₹15,00,000 Best player ₹2,50,000 Golden boot ₹2,50,000
See also History of Indian football Durand Cup I-League 2 I-League 3 State leagues Indian Super Cup (1997–2011) Institutional League
References
External links Archived website