By IANS
New Delhi : The busy schedule of the national football team and the cramped domestic calendar have forced the organisers of the century-old Durand Cup to change to a knockout format.
“We have decided to reduce the length of the tournament and convert it into a knock-out tournament to minimise the strain on the teams as the season is long and strenuous. The teams will now have to play only four matches in the main draw,” Joginder Singh, secretary general of the Durand Football Tournament Society, told reporters here Thursday.
“If the tournament was based on the same league format, then it would have meant more matches and more chances of players getting injured,” Singh added.
The 120th edition of the tournament, however, has lost much of its shin. Three Kolkata giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan – who have won the event 31 times between them — and Mohammedan Sporting have decided to skip the cup due to their commitments to the Kolkata league.
“It is unfortunate but is a result of the busy schedule. The entries had to come through the state association and we tried to persuade Indian Football Association (IFA), but they could not adjust the dates of their local league,” Singh said.
“We have tried to get representation from all regions of the country as this a genuine national tournament,” Singh said.
Four qualifiers will make it to main draw to join 12 of the top teams in the country. Altogether 18 sides, including six teams from Delhi, will be in action during the qualifying rounds. The main draw starts from Oct 30 while the semi-finals will be played Nov 6. The final is slated for Nov 8.
For the first time in the history of the tournament, floodlights will be used for the main draw matches at the Ambedkar Stadium.
Defending champions Dempo Sports Club, JCT, Mahindra United, Churchill Brothers, Sporting Clube-de-Goa and Air India will be among those vying for top honours.
“We even invited six-seven foreign clubs. One team from Ghana had confirmed participation but backed down at the eleventh hour citing injuries to key players,” said Singh.
For the second time in a row, auction house Osian has decided to be the title sponsor of the tournament, which will have a total purse of Rs.2 million. The winners will take home Rs.800,000 and the runners-up Rs.600,000.
Fixture (main round):
Oct 30: HAL vs Churchill Brothers; TFA vs, Punjab Police
Oct 31: JCT vs. Qualifier III; Salgaocar vs. Viva Kerala
Nov 1: Dempo vs. Qualifier IV; Air India vs. Qualifier I
Nov 2: Sporting Clube de Goa vs. Army XI; Mahindra United vs. Qualifier II
Nov 3: Quarterfinal I; Quarterfinal II
Nov 4: Quarterfinal III; Quarterfinal IV
Nov 6: Semi-final I; Semi-final II
Nov 8: Final