The 2023 Super Cup was the third edition of the Super Cup and the 41st season of the national knockout football competition in India. The competition was sponsored by Hero MotoCorp and known as the Hero Super Cup for sponsorship purposes.[1][2][3]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Venue(s) | EMS Stadium, Kozhikode Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri |
| Dates | 3–6 April (qualification rounds) 8–25 April (main competition) |
| Teams | 21 (all) 16 (group stage) |
| Defending champions | Goa |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Odisha (1st title) |
| Runner-up | Bengaluru |
| AFC Cup | Odisha |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 32 |
| Goals scored | 113 (3.53 per match) |
| Attendance | 109,607 (3,425 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Wilmar Jordán (7 goals) |
| Best player | Diego Mauricio |
The tournament was being organised after a gap of four years due to various scheduling issues, with the latest edition being played in 2019.[4] This was the first time the Super Cup champions to had a spot allotted in the AFC competitions.[5] Odisha were crowned champions after defeating Bengaluru 2–1 in the final, their first-ever major title,[6] and qualified for the qualifier for 2023–24 AFC Cup group stage.
Format
The 2023 edition of Super Cup was played across two cities of Kerala, Kozhikode and Manjeri, selected by the AIFF in a comprehensive and inclusive manner. The competition consisted of the qualifying play-offs, the group stage, the semi-finals and the final.[2]
The tournament proper featured 16 top clubs across the top two divisions of Indian football. All 11 clubs from the ISL and the 2022–23 I-League champions directly qualified to the group stage. The teams placed 2nd to 10th in the 2022–23 I-League competed for the four remaining spots in the qualifying round that featured single-leg ties.
The 16 qualified clubs were drawn into four groups of four each, competing in a single round-robin format, with group winners making it through to the semi-finals.[7]
Teams
| Team | League | App (last) |
|---|---|---|
| Aizawl FC | I-League | 2nd (2018) |
| Churchill Brothers | I-League | 2nd (2018) |
| Gokulam Kerala | I-League | 2nd (2018) |
| Mohammedan | I-League | 1st |
| Real Kashmir | I-League | 2nd (2019) |
| Sreenidi Deccan | I-League | 1st |
| TRAU | I-League | 1st |
| Team | League | App (last) |
|---|---|---|
| NEROCA | I-League | 2nd (2018) |
| Rajasthan United | I-League | 1st |
Schedule
| Phase | Round | Match dates |
|---|---|---|
| Qualification round | First qualifying round | 3 April 2023 |
| Second qualifying round | 5–6 April 2023 | |
| Main tournament | Group stage | 8–19 April 2023 |
| Semi-finals | 21–22 April 2023 | |
| Final | 25 April 2023 |
Venues
A total of 32 matches were played across 2 cities, Kozhikode and Manjeri. 18 matches were played in Manjeri, including the qualifying play-offs, and 14 matches in Kozhikode.
| Kozhikode | Manjeri |
|---|---|
| EMS Corporation Stadium | Payyanad Stadium |
| Capacity: 50,000 | Capacity: 30,000 |
 |
Qualifying rounds
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Rajasthan United | 2–2 (1–3 p) | NEROCA |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Sreenidi Deccan | 4–2 | NEROCA |
| Gokulam Kerala | 5–2 | Mohammedan |
| TRAU | 0–1 | Aizawl |
| Real Kashmir | 0–6 | Churchill Brothers |
First qualifying round
| 3 April 2023 | Rajasthan United | 2–2 (a.e.t.) (1–3 p) | NEROCA | Manjeri |
| 20:30 IST |
| Report |
| Stadium: Payyanad Stadium Attendance: 1,210 Referee: Pratik Mondal Man of the Match: Soram Poirei (NEROCA) |
| Penalties | ||||
| ||||
Second qualifying round
| 5 April 2023 Q-1 | Sreenidi Deccan | 4–2 | NEROCA | Manjeri |
| 17:00 IST | Report |
| Stadium: Payyanad Stadium Attendance: 483 Referee: I Jamal Mohamed Man of the Match: Rilwan Hassan (Sreenidi Deccan) |
| 5 April 2023 Q-2 | Gokulam Kerala | 5–2 | Mohammedan | Manjeri |
| 20:30 IST | Report |
| Stadium: Payyanad Stadium Attendance: 3,128 Referee: Senthil Nathan S Man of the Match: Omar Ramos (Gokulam Kerala) |
| 6 April 2023 Q-3 | TRAU | 0–1 | Aizawl | Manjeri |
| 17:00 IST | Report |
| Stadium: Payyanad Stadium Attendance: 772 Referee: Aditya Purkayastha Man of the Match: Ivan Veras (Aizawl) |
| 6 April 2023 Q-4 | Real Kashmir | 0–6 | Churchill Brothers | Manjeri |
| 20:30 IST | Report | Stadium: Payyanad Stadium Attendance: 1,708 Referee: Pranjal Banerjee Man of the Match: Ansumana Kromah (Churchill Brothers) |
Group stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | BEN | SRD | KER | RGP | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bengaluru | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | |
| 2 | Sreenidi Deccan | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4[a] | — | — | 2–0 | — | ||
| 3 | Kerala Blasters | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4[a] | — | — | — | 3–1 | ||
| 4 | Punjab FC | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | — |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
Notes:
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | OFC | HYD | EAB | AIZ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Odisha | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage | — | — | 1–1 | — | |
| 2 | Hyderabad | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1–2 | — | — | 2–1 | ||
| 3 | East Bengal | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 3 | — | 3–3 | — | 2–2 | ||
| 4 | Aizawl | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 1 | 0–3 | — | — | — |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | JAM | FCG | AMB | GOK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamshedpur | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 | +6 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage | — | — | 3–0 | 3–2 | |
| 2 | Goa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 3–5 | — | — | — | ||
| 3 | Mohun Bagan SG | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | — | 0–1 | — | 5–1 | ||
| 4 | Gokulam Kerala (H) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 0 | — | 1–0 | — | — |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | NEU | MCI | CHE | CHB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NorthEast United | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 8 | +2 | 6[a] | Advance to knockout stage | — | 2–1 | — | 6–3 | |
| 2 | Mumbai City | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6[a] | — | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | ||
| 3 | Chennaiyin | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | 4–2 | — | — | — | ||
| 4 | Churchill Brothers | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 1 | — | — | 0–0 | — |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
Notes:
Knockout stage
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| A1 | Bengaluru | 2 | |||||||
| C1 | Jamshedpur | 0 | |||||||
| A1 | Bengaluru | 1 | |||||||
| B1 | Odisha | 2 | |||||||
| B1 | Odisha | 3 | |||||||
| D1 | NorthEast United | 1 | |||||||
Semi-finals
| Odisha | 3–1 | NorthEast United |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Final
Top scorers
- As of 25 April 2023
Awards
| Award | Winner |
|---|---|
| Hero of the Tournament Award for Best Player |  Diego Maurício (Odisha) |
| Golden Boot |  Wilmar Jordán (NorthEast United) |
| Best Goalkeeper |  Amrinder Singh (Odisha) |
| Fair Play Award | Aizawl FC |
| Source: The-AIFF | |
Broadcasting
The Hero Super Cup 2023 was streamed live on Fancode app (all matches) and Sony Sports Ten 2 channel (all matches except the qualifiers).[9]