Jharkhand governor unveils Durand Cup Trophy

Jamshedpur, Jul 7 (PTI) Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar on Monday unveiled the trophy of the 134th Durand Cup, Asia's oldest football competition which will kick off in Kolkata on July 23.

Twenty-four teams will be divided into six groups as they will fight for glory in the world's third-oldest tournament, to be played across five states -- West Bengal, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya and Assam.

The tournament will also mark the start of the new Indian football season.

Jamshedpur will play host to Group C matches which will have Indian Army, Nepal’s Tribhuvan FC, Ladakh FC and Jamshedpur FC besides a quarterfinal on August 16.

Since shifting base from Delhi to Kolkata in 2019, the century-old tournament continues to call the 'Mecca of Indian Football' its home for a sixth consecutive edition.

The final will be held at Kolkata’s iconic Salt Lake Stadium on August 23.

Teams and Groups =========== Group A: East Bengal FC, South United FC, Indian Air Force FT, Namdhari FC Group B: Mohun Bagan SG, Mohammedan SC, Diamond Harbour FC, BSF FT Group C: Jamshedpur FC, Indian Army FT, Ladakh FC, Tribhuvan FC Group D: Punjab FC, ITBP FT, Bodoland FC, Karbi Anglong Morning Star FC Group E: Shillong Lajong FC, Rangdajied United FC, Northeast United FC, Foreign Team 2 Group F: TRAU FC, NEROCA FC, Indian Navy FT, Real Kashmir FC.

Knockout fixtures =========== Quarter-finals: QF1 – August 16, Kokrajhar (SAI Stadium); QF2 – August 16, Shillong (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium); QF3 – August 17, Jamshedpur (JRD Tata Sports Complex); QF4 – August 17, Kolkata (Salt Lake).

Semi-finals: SF1 – August 19, Shillong (Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium); SF2 – August 20, Kolkata (Salt Lake). PTI BS TAP DDV