Hero Super Cup 2023 draw was held at Football House in New Delhi on Tuesday, March 7. For the first time ever, the Hero Super Cup will be held in Kerala.
The tournament will see participation from 11 teams from the Hero Indian Super League and ten teams from the Hero I-League. The eleven teams of the Hero ISL and the winners of the Hero I-League get a direct entry into the group stage of the competition.
Seven teams from the Hero I-League (those ranked from second to eighth) will have a set of playoff qualifiers to get into the group stage of the tournament. Furthermore, the teams ranked ninth and tenth will play a qualifying playoff and the winners will get a place in the qualifiers.
Sixteen teams will compete in the final stage of the tournament and the winner will face last season’s Hero I-League Champions Gokulam Kerala FC in play-off, to determine who will get an entry into the AFC Cup South Zone group.
East Bengal FC is placed in Group B along with Hyderabad FC, Odisha FC and winners of the playoff between the Hero I-League teams ranked fourth and seventh.
East Bengal FC will start their campaign on April 9 against Odisha FC, followed by Hyderabad FC on April 13 and Q3 winners on April 17.
Following is the full Schedule:
Qualifying playoff
April 3: Hero I-League 9 vs Hero I-League 10, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
Qualifiers
April 5: Q1, Hero I-League 2 vs Winners of Qualifying playoff, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
April 5: Q2, Hero I-League 3 vs Hero I-League 8, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
April 6: Q3, Hero I-League 4 vs Hero I-League 7, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
April 6: Q4, Hero I-League 5 vs Hero I-League 6, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
Group A
April 8: Bengaluru FC vs Winners Q1, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
April 8: Kerala Blasters FC vs RoundGlass Punjab FC, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
April 12: Winners Q1 vs Kerala Blasters FC, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
April 12: RoundGlass Punjab vs Bengaluru FC, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
April 16: RoundGlass Punjab vs Winners Q1, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
April 16: Bengaluru FC vs Kerala Blasters FC, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
Group B
April 9: Hyderabad FC vs Winners Q3, Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri
April 9: Odisha FC vs East Bengal FC, Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri
April 13: Winners Q3 vs Odisha FC, Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri
April 13: East Bengal FC vs Hyderabad FC, Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri
April 17: East Bengal vs Winners Q3, Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri
April 17: Hyderabad FC vs Odisha FC, Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri
Group C
April 10: ATK Mohun Bagan vs Winners Q2, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
April 10: FC Goa vs Jamshedpur FC, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
April 14: Winners Q2 vs FC Goa, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
April 14: Jamshedpur FC vs ATK Mohun Bagan, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
April 18: Jamshedpur FC vs Winners Q2, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
April 18: ATK Mohun Bagan vs FC Goa, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
Group D
April 11: Mumbai City FC vs Winners Q4, Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri
April 11: Chennaiyin FC vs NorthEast United FC, Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri
April 15: Winners Q4 vs Chennaiyin FC, Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri
April 15: NorthEast FC vs Mumbai City FC, Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri
April 19: NorthEast United FC vs Winners Q4, Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri
April 19: Mumbai City FC vs Chennaiyin FC, Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri
SEMI FINALS
April 21: Winners Group A vs Winners Group C, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode
April 22: Winners Group B vs Winners Group D, Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri
FINAL
April 25: Winners Semi Final 1 vs Winners Semi Final 2, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode.
Picture Courtesy: Social Media
