The 2024 Super Cup, known as the Kalinga Super Cup now, is set to be played in January in Orissa during the break for the Asian Cup. Odisha FC are the defending champions of the tournament after defeating Bengaluru FC in the final of the last edition. The winners of the cup will qualify for the 2024–25 AFC Champions League 2. The group stages of the Kalinga Super Cup will begin on 9th January 2024 and end with the final in the Kalinga Stadium on 28th.
A total of 16 teams are going to participate in the fourth edition of the Super Cup, divided into four groups. The top-placed side from each group will qualify for the semi-finals. Both Indian Super League and I-league clubs will compete in the Kalinga Super Cup 2024 as usual. Each group will have three ISL clubs and an I-League team in it. While all 12 sides from ISL are going to take part in the contest, only five teams from the I-league have shown their interest. Of these, four will qualify for the main tournament. As a case, the planned I-League qualifiers will not take place this time.
Gokulam Kerala, Sreenidi Deccan, Inter Kashi, Shillong Lajong and Rajasthan United are the teams from the I-League that will be playing in the Kalinga Super Cup 2024. Their final standings on the league table of each club after the conclusion of the last round of games on December 24, 2023, will confirm their placement in all the groups. The top three teams directly qualify for the group stages. Whereas, the last two ranked teams among the participating clubs will face each other in a single-leg playoff on 8th January 2024 to determine the final slot.
Here are all the I-League teams participating in Kalinga Super Cup 2024:
Sreenidi Deccan (I-league 1st Team)
Sreenidi Deccan are placed third on the I-League table after the first 11 games of the season with just three points off the top. However, the Deccan Warriors are ranked above the other participating teams in the Kalinga Super Cup 2024 and will go to Group A as a reason. Quite a tough group to manage with two Kolkata giants, Mohun Bagan Super Giant and East Bengal FC drawn together alongside a third ISL side Hyderabad FC. This is the second participation for Sreenidi Deccan in the Super Cup and for consecutive times.
Shillong Lajong (I-League 2nd Team)
Shillong Lajong are also making their second appearance in the Super Cup, having participated in the inaugural edition as well back in 2018. After an excellent first-half period in the I-league, returning to the competition after four seasons, The Reds find themselves fifth on the table above two-time winners Gokulam Kerala and new corporate entry Inter Kashi. Hence, Lajong are the second-best-ranked team from the I-League in Kalinga Super Cup 2024. They are drawn in Group B with ISL sides - Kerala Blasters, NorthEast United and Jamshedpur FC.
Gokulam Kerala (I-league 3rd Team)
The only I-League team from the lot that has played in each of the three Super Cup editions so far is Gokulam Kerala. The Malabarians had a rather disappointing outing last time by finishing bottom of their group without a victory. They will face stiff competition this time as well with Mumbai City, Chennaiyin FC and once fellow I-League team Punjab FC their opponents in Group C. Gokulam have fallen from the title charge again opening up a 10-point deficit with the top spot but a 4-1 win over Sreenidi Deccan in their final game of the year helped them become the third-best placed I-League side in the Kalinga Super Cup 2024. They are the last guaranteed team from the league to be in the group stage
Inter Kashi (I-League 4th Team) and Rajasthan United (I-league 5th Team)
New corporate entry Inter Kashi are also not meeting their lofty ambition of ISL promotion this season, languishing in eighth on the table. They will at least want to make the group stages of the Super Cup having qualified for the playoffs where they will face the fifth-ranked I-League side in the tournament, Rajasthan United. The Desert Warriors are also eyeing a place in the group stage of the Super Cup having failed at the qualifying stage last time.
Kalinga Super Cup 2024 Groups
Group A
Mohun Bagan SG
East Bengal FC
Hyderabad FC
Sreenidi Deccan
Group B
Kerala Blasters
NorthEast United
Jamshedpur FC
Shillong Lajong
Group C
Mumbai City
Chennaiyin FC
Punjab FC
Gokulam Kerala
Group D
FC Goa
Odisha FC
Bengaluru FC
I-League 4th or 5th team
