Durand Cup 2026 kicks off on 25 July with a Kolkata Derby, record 17 time champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant against 16 time winners East Bengal FC at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan. Twenty four teams will contest the 135th edition across five cities before the final returns to the same Kolkata ground on 23 August.

Asia's oldest football tournament, first played in 1888, is organised by the Indian Armed Forces. IndianOil holds the title sponsorship, State Bank of India and Coal India Limited power the edition, and the official tournament site lists the Government of Assam among the backers of the Guwahati leg.


Kolkata Derby on opening day

The draw put the two most decorated clubs in Durand history into the same group, and the fixture list released by the Durand Cup Organising Committee sends them at each other on day one. Group A also holds South United FC and CISF Protectors, the Central Industrial Security Force side, with every Group A match staged in Kolkata. The two giants have lifted 33 Durand titles between them, and the 2025 edition drew more than 4.4 lakh spectators across its 43 matches.

The committee is chaired by Lt Gen Gambhir Singh, Chief of Staff, Headquarters Eastern Command. Maj Gen Dinesh Kumar Singh, General Officer Commanding, Bengal Sub Area, serves as Vice Chairman and has been fronting the build up in Kolkata.

Durand Cup 2026 groups, venues and knockout dates

Six groups play across six stadiums in five cities. Kolkata hosts Groups A and B at the Yuba Bharati and the Kishore Bharati Krirangan. Ranchi, a new host city this year, stages Group C at the Birsa Munda Football Stadium. Group D plays at the Khuman Lampak Main Stadium in Imphal, Group E at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong, and Group F at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati, which runs its leg from 1 to 13 August.

Group B pairs Indian Army FT with Mohammedan Sporting Club, Baghpat FC and Samaleswari Sporting. Group C has Jamshedpur FC, Indian Air Force FT, SC Delhi and Defenders FC. Group D brings together Neroca FC, Trau FC, FC Raengdai and Indian Navy FT, while Group E is a Shillong affair with Shillong Lajong FC, Langsning FC, Nongkseh FC and CC, and Mumbay FC.

The published fixtures place the quarterfinals on 16 and 17 August in Kolkata, Ranchi and Shillong. The first semifinal is at the Yuba Bharati on 19 August, the second at Shillong's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on 20 August, and the final in Kolkata on 23 August. Sony Sports Network carries the tournament on television, with streaming on SonyLIV.

NorthEast United chase three in a row

NorthEast United FC arrive as champions of the last two editions, having beaten debut finalists Diamond Harbour FC 6 goals to 1 in the 2025 final in Kolkata. A win this year would be their third title in a row. The Guwahati team open their defence at home against Bodoland FC on 1 August, in a Group F that also carries FC 1 and Karbi Anglong Morning Star FC.

Services teams and a side from Sri Lanka

The Durand Cup 2026 field mixes Indian Super League clubs, lower division and emerging sides, the services teams and one overseas entrant. Defenders FC of Sri Lanka begin against Jamshedpur FC in Ranchi on 26 July.

The Army, Navy and Air Force teams are spread across three cities. Indian Army FT open against Samaleswari Sporting at the Kishore Bharati Krirangan on 26 July, which falls on Kargil Vijay Diwas, the day the Shaurya Vijay Yatra riders reach the war memorial at Dras. Indian Air Force FT start in Ranchi on 29 July and Indian Navy FT in Imphal on 30 July.

Trophy tour from Rashtrapati Bhavan to the Brahmaputra

President Droupadi Murmu unveiled and flagged off the three trophies, the Durand Cup, the President's Cup and the Shimla Trophy, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre on 7 July.

The tour then went east. Meghalaya's Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Wailadmiki Shylla flagged off the Shillong leg on 11 July. In Manipur, Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Govindas Konthoujam sent the trophies out from Sendra escorted by the Thangjing Riders, and the leg took in Manipur University before Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla received the silverware at Imphal alongside Chief Minister Y. Khemchand Singh and Lt Gen Gambhir Singh.

Guwahati followed on 16 July with a press conference and flag off ceremony. The trophies then moved through the city, calling at the new Assam Legislative Assembly building, the Brahmaputra riverfront, IIT Guwahati and the City Centre mall, where troops in ceremonial dress carried the three cups through the concourse.