Highlights:
ISL 2023-24 playoffs feature Mumbai City, Mohun Bagan, FC Goa, Odisha FC, Kerala Blasters, and Chennaiyin FC.
Mumbai City and Mohun Bagan compete for the Winner’s Shield on April 15.
Top two teams qualify directly for semi-finals; third to sixth play knockout matches.
East Bengal qualifies for ACL 2 preliminaries despite missing playoffs.
The top six teams for the ISL 2023-24 playoffs stage have been confirmed with the schedule announced on April 11, 2024. The fight for a place in the final starts on Friday, April 19 with the knockout matches followed by the semi-finals in a home and away format. The Indian Super League or ISL final for the 2023-24 season will be held on 4 May 2024. The venue of the final is yet to be finalised. Mumbai City, Mohun Bagan, FC Goa, Odisha FC, Kerala Blasters and Chennaiyin FC have made it to the playoffs this season. While the playoff places are sorted, the race for the Winner’s Shield is still on with the top-two Mumbai City and Mohun Bagan Super Giant to play out the decider on Monday, April 15. The Mariners are the defending champions of the ISL trophy having won it for the first time last year.
The top two teams at the end of the league stage will qualify for the playoff semifinals, which are double-legged, directly. The side finishing third to sixth will be involved in single-leg knockout matches to decide the remaining semi-finalists. The team ending in third could face the one finishing sixth while fourth and fifth will battle against each other. The highest-ranked in the matches will play at home. Teams finishing second and third will also secure qualification for the new tournament SAFF Club Championship whereas the Shield winners book a place in the AFC Champions League 2. Despite not being in playoffs, East Bengal has earned qualification to the preliminary stage of the ACL 2 after winning the Super Cup.
Qualified Teams
Mumbai City FC (Pos - 1, Pld - 21, Pts - 47)
Shield holders Mumbai City will be aiming to defend their title when they travel to Salt Lake. The Islanders are guaranteed to finish in the top two and by so, is the only team to have confirmed a semi-final slot till now. This is their fifth participation in the playoffs.
Mohun Bagan Super Giant (Pos - 2, Pld - 21, Pts - 45)
Mohun Bagan Super Giant have to win their final league game to secure their first Winner’s Shield. A point will do them no favor but will help them earn a direct spot in the semis. Losing the match will require third-place FC Goa to lose in their final match against Chennaiyin FC for the Mariners to stay in second. The Kolkata giants will compete in their fourth straight playoffs since being introduced in ISL in 2020.
FC Goa (Pos - 3, Pld - 21, Pts - 42)
FC Goa cannot win the Shield but can finish second on the table to qualify automatically for the semi-finals. For that to happen, Mohun Bagan has to suffer defeat against Mumbai City in their final league match with Goa requiring a win against Chennaiyin FC. The Gaurs have also made it to the inaugural SAFF Club Championship. Manolo Marquez’s side are making it into the playoffs
Odisha FC (Pos - 4, Pld - 21, Pts - 39)
Odisha FC have no chance to finish in the top two and will compete in the knockout rounds of the playoffs irrespective of the result of their final league match. The Juggernauts will end on fourth of the league table with a nine-point lead over Kerala Blasters and trail third-place FC Goa on head-to-head if the points are the same at the end. Odisha FC will be making a fourth appearance in the playoffs and consecutive times under the current brand name.
Kerala Blasters (Pos - 5, Pld - 21, Pts - 30)
Ivan Vukomanovic became the first coach for Kerala Blasters to have led them to three consecutive playoffs by cementing their position in fifth this season. Overall, this is their fifth participation in the playoffs. The Tuskers will start from the knockouts hoping to make the semifinals for the third time.
Chennaiyin FC (Pos - 6, Pld - 21, Pts - 27)
The last team to make the top six is Chennaiyin FC, finishing sixth or in the final spot, who will be making the playoffs for the first time since 2020. East Bengal’s loss to Punjab FC in their final league game helped Marina Machans qualify and also evade the challenges from fellow Southern club Bengaluru FC, Jamshedpur FC and NorthEast United.
Playoffs Schedule
Knockouts - April 19 and April 20
Semi-finals (1st leg) - April 23 and April 24
Semi-finals (2nd leg) - April 28 and April 29
Final - May 4
