On October 6, 2023, the All India Football Federation unveiled the I-League 2023-24 season fixtures until December 2023. The season kickoff is scheduled for October 28, 2023. Real Kashmir Football Club will face Rajasthan United Football Club at 2 p.m. in the opening match, held in Srinagar. Later, at 7 p.m., Gokulam Kerala Football Club will welcome Inter Kashi in the day's second match.
This season boasts 13 competing teams: Sreenidi Deccan FC, Gokulam Kerala FC, Tiddim Road Athletic Union, Real Kashmir FC, Churchill Brothers FC Goa, Aizawl FC, Mohammedan Sporting Club, Rajasthan United FC, Neroca FC, Shillong Lajong FC, Delhi FC, Inter Kashi, and Punjab Namdhari Sports.
The Indian Women's League is set to commence on December 8, 2023. Gokulam Kerala FC, the defending champions, will kick off the league by hosting Sethu FC in Kozhikode. Seven teams are participating in the Indian Women's League: Gokulam Kerala FC, Kickstart FC, Sethu FC, Odisha FC, East Bengal, HOPS FC, and Sports Odisha.
Indian Women's League 2023/24 fixture Indian Women's League 2023/24 fixture | Sportz PointIndian Women's League 2023/24 fixture Indian Women's League 2023/24 fixture
The Durand Cup was first held in Shimla which was a popular retreat for the British back in the day. Sir Henry Durand was recovering from an illness in the hill station and realised the importance of physical health for soldiers in the Army.
There were several army regiments and military units that were originally involved in the tournament and it became an inter-regiment tournament essentially.
They were initially only inclined towards playing Hockey given the popularity of the sport in India at that time but football gradually picked up.
The event itself was a major deal and people came from all across the country to watch the final which was a highly publicised event. It was also a great platform for Indian football clubs to defeat the British regiments which of course, rarely happened at that time.
However, events post World War II that also involved the cancellation and relocation of the tournament ushered a new era for Indian football.
The Durand Cup was later shifted to Delhi post 1940 and opened for civilian clubs and teams. This brought in the likes of Mohammedan, Salgaocar, East Bengal and all the other legendary I-League teams that have since dominated the proceedings.
Sunil Chhetri, the captain of the Indian football team with one of the Durand Cups as Bengaluru FC lifted the trophy in 2022 (Image- BFC Twitter)
It is now held under the Durand Football Tournament Society and has been the continuously held every year to attract top Indian teams and players from leagues such as the ISL, I-league and even Armed forces football teams.
The inclusion of ISL and Armed forces teams has helped expand the reach of the tournament.
Take a look at some of the winners and runner-ups of Durand Cup, one of the most popular football tournaments in India. Durand Cup has been a success for many years with all the details about the show since 2000.
Kolkata giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan are the most successful teams in the history of the tournament winning it a record 17 and 16 times respectively.
Royal Scouts Fusiliers were the first-ever winners and Mohammedan Sporting were the first Indian to win the competition. Bengaluru Fc are the reigning champions.
Team
Titles
Mohun Bagan
17
East Bengal
16
BSF
7
JCT
5
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East Bengal is one of Asia's biggest and most supported football clubs. In October 2020, the club was voted as the most popular football club in India on an AFC poll by its supporters.
The East Bengal Club was established on 1st August 1920 by Suresh Chandra Chaudhury along with some other dignitaries, and the club's first captain was Ramesh Chandra Sen.
The Kolkata-based club has created a lot of records and won so many trophies. The Football club was going through a tough phase as they hadn't won a major trophy since the 2013-14 season.
But, under the new Manager and coaching staff, the Red & Gold Brigade are playing good football. So, let's look at the trophies East Bengal has won in its footballing history.
East Bengal FC Trophies List
East Bengal played their first match in the 1920 Hercules Cup, which was a 7-a-side tournament that they won. They won their first-ever full tournament in 1921 and lifted the Khogendra Shield.
The Red and Gold brigade qualified for the Calcutta Football League 1st division in 1925. They won their first 1st title in 1942. Then the Kolkata-based club lifted their first IFA Shield in 1943. In 1945, East Bengal won their first double, claiming both the Calcutta Football League and the IFA Shield.
From 1949-51, East Bengal became the first team to make a hat-trick of wins in the IFA Shield. In 1972, East Bengal won the Calcutta Football League, IFA Shield, Durand Cup, and Rovers Cup in a single season, becoming the first team to do so.
In 1972, East Bengal also made a record of being the first and till date, only Indian team to win the Calcutta Football League without conceding a single goal, which they again repeated in 1991.
East Bengal won its first First Division league title in 1942 and has since won it a record 39 times. They have also won eightFederation Cups, three Super Cups, a record 29 IFA Shields, the Kuladakanta Shield, and MLA CUP, alongside 16 Durand Cup titles, making the club one of the most decorated in Indian football.
Khalid Jamil stats as manager: Jamil becomes new Blue Tigers coach
As AIFF announced Khalid Jamil as the new head coach of the Indian Men's Senior Football Team, here are his stats as a football manager so far. Jamil so far has coached teams like Aizwal FC, East Bengal, Mohun Bagan, NEUFC and Jamshedpur FC.
Khalid Jamil has been named as the new head coach of the Indian Men's Senior Football team, as AIFF chose him over Stephen Constantine and Stefan Tarkovic from the final list. With Jamil becoming the new boss of the Blue Tigers, we present you with the stats and history of his career as a football manager so far.
Jamil managing an I-League game for Aizawl FC in 2016/17 season. Image | I-league
Since retiring as a professional footballer, Jamil started his managerial career with Mumbai FC in 2009. Jamil went on to coach them for 7 years until he joined Aizawl FC in December 2016. It was with Aizawl FC where his career took a turn after leading them to a miraculous I-League title in the 2016/17 season.
After the I-League success, Khalid coached two Kolkata giants, first East Bengal in the 2017-18 season and then ATK Mohun Bagan (which is now Mohun Bagan Super Giant) in the next season.
However, Khalid did not get that much success with those two Kolkata clubs, and he joined Northeast United FC as the academy head in 2019. From 2019-22, Jamil served as Assistant manager, caretaker manager and then head coach of NEUFC. After that, he spent one season with Bengaluru United.
Finally, in 2023, he arrived at Jamshedpur FC, where he showed his class as the head coach and uplifted a few young Indian talents as well.Last season under him, Jamshedpur FC reached the semi-finals of the Indian Super League as well, and Khalid became the first Indian coach to achieve that feat.
His experince and understanding of Indian football is supposed to be a ground-breaking factor for the upcoming few months of Indian football.
Club & Role
Appointed
In Charge Until
Matches
PPM
India (Manager)
25/26 (Aug 1, 2025)
-
-
0.00
Jamshedpur FC (Manager)
23/24 (Dec 31, 2023)
Expected May 31, 2026
50
1.72
FC Chitwan (Manager)
23/24 (Sep 29, 2023)
23/24 (Oct 29, 2023)
-
0.00
FC Bengaluru United (Manager)
21/22 (Jun 1, 2022)
22/23 (Jun 30, 2023)
-
0.00
NorthEast United FC (Manager)
21/22 (Oct 23, 2021)
21/22 (May 31, 2022)
20
0.70
NorthEast United FC (Caretaker Manager)
20/21 (Jan 12, 2021)
20/21 (May 31, 2021)
11
2.00
NorthEast United FC (Caretaker Manager)
19/20 (Feb 11, 2020)
19/20 (May 31, 2020)
2
0.00
NorthEast United FC (Assistant Manager)
18/19 (Jun 19, 2019)
20/21 (Nov 25, 2020)
-
0.00
— Assisted: Robert Jarni (16 games), Gerard Nus (1 game)
WATCH: Liston Colaco scores a 'GOLAZO' in Durand Cup 2025 against Mohammedan
Liston Colaco scored a stunning free-kick in the first half before assisting and scoring one more goal in Mohun Bagan's 3-1 win over Mohammedan in Durand Cup 2025.
Indian football team winger Liston Colaco scored a stunning free-kick, including a brace, to help Mohun Bagan Super Giant kick off their Durand Cup 2025 journey with a 3-1 win over Mohammedan Sporting Club ar VYBK on Thursday.
Liston's Goalzo
Liston after the goal. Image | MBSG on X
Coincidentally, Liston had also scored a stunning free-kick goal during the practice game between Mohun Bagan senior and Mohun Bagan junior ahead of the season opener. Just in the 21st minute of the match, Liston himself earned a free-kick after being fouled by a trio of Mohammedan defenders at the edge of the box.
Liston took the charge into his hand, in fact, on his feet as he lined up to take the free-kick, the Cristiano-way. Liston took a deep breath and then decided to go over the wall of defenders to beat Subhajit Bhattacharjee in the goal and hit the back of the net.
Suhail scored MBSG's second goal. Image | MBSG on X
After Liston's goal in the 23rd minute, Mohun Bagan faced a setback at the stroke of the half-time mark. Aupia Ralte received a red card for dissent after he was tackled by Mohammedan in the 43rd minute of the match.
Mohammedan took advantage of Mohun Bagan's one-man less defence as Ahsley Koli scored in the 50th minute to make everything level again. But Mohun Bagan, the champions of the Indian Super League, had tricks up their sleeves as Suhail Ahmed Bhat scored in the 63rd minute to restore their lead. Liston provided the assist for the Kashmiri striker.
In the dying minute of the match, Liston earned the penalty and turned it into a goal from the spot to make a near-perfect match for him and Mohun Bagan SG.
Mohammedan have now lost both of their Group B match of the Durand Cup 2025.
East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan: Head to Head Stats [UPDATED]
Though the data is just an approximation, as of 27th July 2025, it is believed that in total 403 East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan matches up till now (including friendlies), East Bengal won 139 times while Mohun Bagan won 135 times. 129 matches have been drawn.
As far as local sporting rivalries go, few on this planet can compare to the one between East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan, commonly known as the Kolkata Derby.
The two giants hailing from the same city, Kolkata, have been at each other's throats since East Bengal's inception a century and some change ago on August 1st, 1920, and their rivalry has scripted the most glorious chapter in the history of Indian football.
The two teams are not just two football entities but represent two sets of inhabitants of the state of Bengal, who simply cannot stand losing to the other side. East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan evokes passion unlike any other sporting contest in the country. So ahead of the new season's Kolkata Derby, we take a brief look at the rich history of the rivalry.
Though the data is just an approximation, as of 27th July 2025, it is believed that the tally of overall meetings stands at 403 matches up till now, (including friendlies), where East Bengal have been triumphant 139 times, while Mohun Bagan 135 times. 129 matches have been drawn.
Since 2020-21, these two teams have played 10 times against each other in ISL, while Mohun Bagan Super Giants have won 9 matches, with only one draw between the two. Mohun Bagan Super Giant is a merger of Mohun Bagan AC and ATK FC.
Mohun Bagan's domination over East Bengal in ISL comes while the two teams enjoy fairly competitive records against each other in other tournaments. In 45 matches of the I-League, East Bengal have won 17 so far and Mohun Bagan 15, while 13 ended in a draw.
— indianhistorypics (@IndiaHistorypic) July 30, 2021
In 22 Federation Cup matches, East Bengal have won eight and Mohun Bagan six, while eight matches ended in a draw. In 12 Rovers Cup matches, both teams have won four each, while four matches ended in a draw.
In 163 Calcutta Football League matches, East Bengal won 56, Mohun Bagan 48 and 59 ended in a draw. East Bengal enjoy a massive record against their archrivals in the IFA Shield. Out of 41 matches, they have won 21, while Mohun Bagan has managed to win only seven of those.