The upcoming Indian football season will be full of action running for almost a year. The top-tier leagues across Men’s and Women’s will have more teams with the cup competition also going through an expansion. The four divisions of the men’s and the two divisions of the women’s will mostly be season-long leagues. This time, the focus is on youth-level leagues and junior tournaments spreading over months. The 2024/25 campaign will kick off with the Durand Cup beginning on 27 July 2024.
Here is the full Indian Football Calendar for the 2024/25 season:
Durand Cup 2024 (July 27 - August 31, 2024)
The season opener tournament, the Durand Cup, will start on July 27, 2024 and end with the final on 31 August 2024. Once again all 13 ISL clubs will participate in the tournament alongside two I-League teams, two state league teams, six Indian Armed Forces teams and a foreign armed forces side. The 24 teams are divided into six groups with the group winners and two best second-placed sides moving into the knockouts. Mohun Bagan Super Giant are the defending champions after winning the Durand Cup for a record 17th time by beating arch-rivals East Bengal FC in Salt Lake Stadium last year. Find out here the Durand Cup 2024 Full Schedule
Junior National Football Championship (July 27 - August 11, 2024)
The Junior National Football Championship Tier 1 and Tier 2 for both Boys and Girls divisions will start at the same period as the Durand Cup. Tier 1 for boys and Tier 2 for girls kick-off on 27 July 2024 but the final of the former falls on August 12, 2024, while the latter plays the decider on the 9th of the same month. The Junior NFC Tier 2 for boys starts on 28th July 2024 with the final on 11 August 2024. Meanwhile, Tier 1 for girls begins on 3 August 2024 with the final set to be hosted on 20th August 2024.
I-League 3 2024 (August 1 - September 30, 2024)
The fourth tier of Indian football in the men’s league or I-League 3 to determine the teams getting promoted to I-league 2 will start on 1st August 2024 with 20 teams taking part, down from 25 last season. Out of those, 16 sides have been nominated by State FAs with two teams namely Klasa and Kerala United retained from the previous season’s playoffs and two clubs relegated from I-League 2 Maharashtra Oranje FC and Kenkre FC.
Sub-Junior NFC Boys and Girls Tier 1 and 2 (August 5 - August 31, 2024) and AIFF Youth Leagues 2024/25 (September 1, 2024 - May 31, 2025)
The sub-junior state championship for Boys and Girls will be the next competition taking stage. The two tiers across both divisions will start on 5th August 2024 and end on the last day of the same month. Shortly after, the AIFF Youth League across all divisions (U13/U15/U17) will begin in September 2024. The leagues will follow a nine-month calendar for the first time ending on May 31, 2025.
Take a look here at full schedule of Junior Girls NFC 2024-25 and Junior Boys NFC 2024-25
Indian Super League 2024/25 (September 14, 2024 - April 30, 2025)
The new season of the Indian Super League or ISL will have the maximum number of teams competing since it was introduced in 2014 with 13. Also, three teams from the same city will play in the top-tier league for the first time after the third Kolkata giant Mohammedan SC gained promotion after winning the I-League last season. According to the AFC roadmap, relegation was supposed to start from the 2024-25 season but the AIFF has decided against implementing it.
Super Cup 2024/25 (October 1, 2024 - May 15, 2025)
The Super Cup will no longer be a single-month tournament and will run concurrently with the leagues for an entire season. The competition will begin on 1 October 2024 with the final expected to fall on May 15, 2025. The format of the Super Cup is to be decided as it will adopt a new format and will not have a single host of the competition. East Bengal FC are the defending champions after winning the fourth edition of the tournament in Bhubaneswar in January this year.
