The 2023–24 Independence Cup, also known as the 2023 Independence Cup, was the 14th edition of the Independence Cup. A total of 13 teams were contested in the final tournament.

Bashundhara Kings is the defending champion. They have won the title by beating Dhaka Mohammedan by 2−1 goals in the final on 18 December 2023.

Participating teams The following thirteen teams were participated in the tournament.

TeamAppearances Previous best performanceBangladesh Police FC 3rd Semi-finals (2021–22)Bashundhara Kings Champions (2018, 2022–23)Brothers Union Quarter finals (2017, 2018)Chittagong Abahani Champions (2016)Abahani Limited Dhaka Champions (1990, 2021–22)Mohammedan SC Champions (1972, 1991, 2014)Fortis FC2ndGroup stages (2022–23)Rahmatganj MFS Semi-finals (2017)Sheikh Russel KC Champions (2013)Sheikh Jamal DC Runners-up (2012)Bangladesh Army 3rd Quarter-final (1991)Bangladesh Navy 3rdGroup-stage (2022–23)Bangladesh Air Force 3rdGroup-stage (2022–23)

Venues Originally the Shaheed Dhirendranath Datta Stadium in Cumilla was included as one of the host venues for the tournament, however, the district cricket league has prevented the Cumilla District Sports Association from lending the district stadium. Thus, instead of four, the tournament were held at three venues locations. MunshigonjShaheed Bir Sreshtho Flight Lt. Matiur Rahman StadiumCapacity: 10,000 Gopalganj DhakaSheikh Fazlul Haque Mani StadiumBashundhara Kings ArenaCapacity: 5,000Capacity: 14,000

Round and dates Dates/YearRoundMatch dates27 October–18 December 2023Qualifying stages 20–23 October 2023Group stages27 October – 1 December 2023Quarter-finals3–5 December 2023Semi-finals15 December 2023Final18 December 2023

Draw The draw ceremony were held on 23 October 2023 at 3rd floor of BFF house Motijheel, Dhaka. There are thirteen teams were divided into four groups. Top two team from each group will through in the Knockout stage.

Group Summary Group AGroup BBangladesh Police FCAbahani Limited DhakaSheikh Jamal DCSheikh Russel KCBrothers UnionRahmatganj MFS Bangladesh Air ForceGroup CGroup DMohammedan SCBashundhara KingsFortis FCChittagong AbahaniBangladesh ArmyBangladesh Navy Qualifying Pair-1 Qualifying Pair-2Bangladesh Air ForceBangladesh ArmyBangladesh NavyDhaka University

Match officials The following officials were chosen for the competition. Referees

Jashim Akther (†) Md Alamgir Sarker (†) Md Anisur Rahman Sagor (†) Mahmud Zamil Farouqee Nahid (†) Md Mizanur Rahman Golam Mourshed Chowdhury Nayan Bituraj Barua Md Jalal Uddin Md Saymoon Hasan Sany Bhubon Mohon Torafder

Assistant Referees

Md Nuruzzaman Sujoy Barua Rasel Mahmud Bituraj Barua Junayed Sharif Md Mizanur Rahman Shafiqul Islam Emon Bikash Sarker Md Mahmudul Hasan Mamun Sheikh Iqbal Alam Md Shah Alam Sabuj Kumar Das Md Shohrab Hossain Monir Ahmed Dhali

(†): working as both referee and assistant referee.

Qualifying play-offs +Play-off 1 Team 1ScoreTeam 2Bangladesh Army2–0Bangladesh Air Force +Play-off 2Team 1ScoreTeam 2Bangladesh Navy 2–0Dhaka University +Elimination play-offsTeam 1ScoreTeam 2Bangladesh Air Force2–0Dhaka University Matches Play-off All times at local (UTC+6)

Elimination play-offs

Group stages Key to colours in group tablesGroup winners and runners-up advance to the Knockout-stage

Tiebreakers Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tie-breaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams; Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams; If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams; Goal difference in all group matches; Goals scored in all group matches; Penalty shoot-out if only two teams were tied and they met in the last round of the group; Disciplinary points (yellow card = 1 point, red card as a result of two yellow cards = 3 points, direct red card = 3 points, yellow card followed by direct red card = 4 points); Drawing of lots.

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Knockout stage In the knockout stages, if a match finished goalless at the end of normal playing time, extra time would have been played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. Bracket

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Statistics Goalscorers

Winners 13th Independence Cup (Bangladesh) 2023–24 WinnersBashundhara KingsThird Title Awards The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament: Fair Play Award Best goalkeeper Best playerMohammedan SCNone Rakib Hossain(Bashundhara Kings)

See also 2023–24 Federation Cup (Bangladesh) References