Durand Cup 2025 Full Fixtures Out, But Concerns Around ISL 2025-26 Remain - Here's Why

The full fixtures of the Durand Cup 2025, Indian football's traditional pre-season tournament and also the oldest-ever knockout tournament for the sport in Asia, have been made public. The first match of the cup will see East Bengal face South United FC at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on July 23. 

The fact that the Durand Cup will take place at all is excellent news but there is still a total lack of clarity over the rest of the season including the Indian Super League, as there is no confirmation yet on the ISL 2025-26 fixtures - something that will worry fans of side's in the top-flight league. 

League owners Football Sports Development Limited or FSDL for short looking for a new Master Rights Agreement with the All India Football Federation, or AIFF for short. However, both parties are nowhere close to agreeing a deal. 

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Durand Cup Adds No Clarity to ISL Status

In the case of the AIFF, they are waiting for their new constitution to be finalised by the Supreme Court before any call on the MRA can be taken. 

As such, with the ISL's future up in the air, there was an expectation that many of the teams would not be part of the Durand Cup. 

And that is in fact the case, as only 6 sides - Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Mohammaden Sporting, Jamshedpur FC, NorthEast United FC and Punjab FC - are in the tournament this year, as oppposed to all 12 teams taking part last year.

The fact that so many teams are comfortable skipping the pre-season tournament highlights an uncertainty over the future of the league, as things stand. 

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See Full Fixtures Here

The Durand Cup is set to run for a whole month and will see a full group stage as well as knockout matches played. 

India's second division league, the I-League, has 3 participants in the form of Diamond Harbour FC, Shillong Lajong and Namdhari FC. 

The first match will take place on July 23 and the final will take place exactly a month later on August 23. The knockouts will begin from August 16, with the group stage set to end on August 12.