The Kalinga Super Cup, which will be the 4th edition of the Super Cup, is set to be played from January 9 to January 28 next year in Odisha, as announced by the All India Football Federation on Wednesday.

Odisha FC are the defending champions who beat Bengaluru FC 2-1 in the final of the Super Cup 2023 to lift their first silverware.

Both Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League teams have been invited to take part in the annual tournament. The format of the tournament will consist of four groups of four teams each, who will play single-leg matches amongst themselves. The group winners will qualify for the semi-finals followed by the final to be played on January 28, 2024. 

The I-League teams will play the qualifiers to get into the group stage of Kalinga Super Cup where four slots have been reserved for them in the group stage. 

All the matches are planned to be held at two different venues in Odisha. 

The champions of the Kalinga Super Cup will be nominated to play in the ACL 2 Preliminary Stage of the AFC 2024-25 season.

AIFF President Mr Kalyan Chaubey said, “As per the decision we took earlier, the annual Super Cup tournament will now be organised in a bigger and broader perspective. The tournament will now be known as the Kalinga Super Cup and will be played in Odisha in January 2024. This is a positive development for Indian domestic football. I am confident the Kalinga Super Cup will be a huge hit both in terms of organisation and spectator interest.”