East Bengal FC defeated Mohun Bagan Super Giant 4-1 in the final of the 135th Durand Cup on 23 August 2026 at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan, also known as Salt Lake Stadium, in Kolkata. Edmund Lalrindika scored a hat-trick and Bipin Singh added another as the Red and Gold Brigade ran riot in a Kolkata Derby final. The victory gave East Bengal its 17th Durand Cup title and put it level with Mohun Bagan as the most successful club in the history of Asia’s oldest football tournament.
What Is the Durand Cup?
The Durand Cup is a domestic football tournament played in India and is recognised as the oldest football competition in Asia and the third oldest surviving football tournament in the world. Only the English FA Cup, started in 1871, and the Scottish FA Cup, started in 1873, are older. It is named after its founder Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, who was Foreign Secretary of British India from 1884 to 1894. He started the tournament in 1888 at Annadale in Shimla in Himachal Pradesh.
At first, the cup was an Army Cup open only to British Indian Army regiments to encourage fitness and discipline. Over time it opened to civilian clubs. The Shimla residents became so attached to the event that they donated their own trophy in 1904, now known as the Shimla Trophy. The tournament moved to New Delhi in 1940 and stayed there for more than seven decades before shifting to Kolkata in 2019 under the Eastern Command of the Indian Army.
The Durand Cup is organised by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS). The DFTS was set up in 1947 as a registered society under the aegis of the three Service Chiefs, after Defence Secretary H. M. Patel ensured that the trophy remained in India after Independence. Today the tournament is run by the DFTS in partnership with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Indian Armed Forces. The AIFF is the national governing body for football in India, founded on 23 June 1937 at Shimla and headquartered in New Delhi. It is affiliated to FIFA and was a founding member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1954.
A unique tradition of the Durand Cup is that the winner receives three trophies. The Durand Cup itself and the Shimla Trophy are rolling trophies that the champion returns the next year, while the President’s Cup is a permanent keepsake. The President’s Cup was first presented by Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, in 1956, replacing the old Viceroy’s Trophy.
135th Edition at a Glance: Format, Schedule and Venues
The 135th edition of the IndianOil Durand Cup was played from 25 July to 23 August 2026. This was the first time the tournament was held across five states, showing its growth from a single city event to a multi city national festival.
Tournament format and participants
The competition involved 24 teams, including Indian Super League (ISL) clubs, I-League clubs, invited clubs and teams from the Armed Forces such as Indian Army FT, Indian Navy FT, Indian Air Force FT and CISF Protectors. The format had two stages, a round robin group stage followed by a knockout stage with quarter finals, semi finals and the final. A total of 43 matches were played and 178 goals were scored at an average of more than four goals per match.
Host cities and stadiums
Matches were spread across six venues in five cities to take top level football closer to fans in the east and northeast:
| City | Stadium |
|---|---|
| Kolkata, West Bengal | Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium) and Kishore Bharati Krirangan |
| Ranchi, Jharkhand | Birsa Munda Football Stadium |
| Guwahati, Assam | Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium |
| Imphal, Manipur | Khuman Lampak Main Stadium |
| Shillong, Meghalaya | Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium |
The final was held at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata. Opened in January 1984, this is the largest football stadium in India with a current capacity of 85,000, though it can be reduced to about 66,600 for FIFA events. Before its 2011 renovation it could hold 120,000 and recorded an attendance of 131,000 in the 1997 Federation Cup semi final between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan. The stadium is also the shared home ground for both Kolkata giants and the Indian national team.
Prize money, tickets and where to watch
The total prize pool for 2026 was ₹3 crore. The champions East Bengal received ₹1.21 crore and the runners up Mohun Bagan received ₹60 lakh. Individual award winners for Golden Boot, Golden Glove and Golden Ball each received ₹3 lakh, with the Golden Ball winner also getting an SUV. Matches were broadcast on the Sony Sports Network and streamed live on SonyLIV, with tickets sold online through BookMyShow and at stadium counters for venues including Kolkata, Shillong and Ranchi.
Road to the Final and the 4-1 Kolkata Derby Decider
The 2026 Durand Cup produced a dream final, a Kolkata Derby between the city’s two historic rivals at a packed Salt Lake Stadium on 23 August 2026 at 5:00 pm IST. Both teams had reached the final through penalty shootouts after goalless semi finals.
East Bengal edged past SC Delhi 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw, with goalkeeper Prabhsukhan Singh Gill saving a penalty in normal time and again in the shootout to help his team convert all five kicks. Mohun Bagan overcame defending champions NorthEast United FC 4-3 on penalties in Shillong after a 0-0 draw, with goalkeeper Vishal Kaith making two saves in the shootout.
The final scoreline was East Bengal 4-1 Mohun Bagan Super Giant. East Bengal started with sharp, direct attacks and took control in the first half:
- In the 10th minute, captain Mohamad Basim Rashid sent a fine through ball to Bipin Singh on the left, who finished to the far post to make it 1-0.
- Two minutes later in the 12th minute, Edmund Lalrindika picked up the ball outside the box and struck a superb shot beyond Vishal Kaith for 2-0.
- In the 22nd minute, Edmund started a team move that went through Hardik Bhatt and Daniel Ramírez before returning to him. He rounded the keeper and defender to score his second and make it 3-0.
- Mohun Bagan pulled one back in the 33rd minute when Lalengmawia Ralte found Manvir Singh on the right. Manvir cut inside and finished to the far post for 3-1.
- Just before half time in the 44th minute, Basim Rashid’s free kick from the right was flicked by Jay Gupta and finished from close range by Edmund to complete his hat-trick and make it 4-1.
After the break, Mohun Bagan pressed with Liston Colaco, Anirudh Thapa, Sahal Abdul Samad and substitute Miguel Ferreira creating chances, but Prabhsukhan Singh Gill made crucial saves, including a sharp free kick from Colaco in the 58th minute. East Bengal defended in an organised block with Sandip Mandi, Anwar Ali, Lalchungnunga and Hardik Bhatt and threatened on the counter through Bipin Singh and Jeakson Singh.
No goals came in the second half, and East Bengal held on for a famous 4-1 win.
Individual honours in 2026
| Award | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Ball (Best Player) | Edmund Lalrindika | East Bengal FC |
| Golden Boot (Top Scorer) | Alaaeddine Ajaraie | NorthEast United FC |
| Golden Glove (Best Goalkeeper) | Vishal Kaith | Mohun Bagan Super Giant |
Each prize winner received ₹3 lakh, and the Golden Ball winner also received an SUV key.
Why East Bengal’s 17th Title Is Historic
The result was much more than a derby win. It changed the record books and ended a long wait.
Before the 2026 final, Mohun Bagan led the all time table with 17 titles, while East Bengal had 16. A Mohun Bagan win would have taken them to 18 and widened the gap. Instead, East Bengal’s victory took them to 17 titles, drawing them level with their arch rivals as joint most successful teams in Durand Cup history. The last time East Bengal had won the trophy was in 2004, when they beat Mohun Bagan 2-1 in the final, so the 2026 win ended a 22 year wait.
The Kolkata Derby itself is one of the oldest and most intense rivalries in world football, locally called the Boro Match or Big Match. The two clubs, both founded more than a century ago, have met more than 400 times. East Bengal had won 141, Mohun Bagan 131, with 129 draws before this season. They have now met in 12 Durand Cup finals, with two joint winners declared in 1960 and 1982. East Bengal now has five outright final wins over Mohun Bagan in those meetings, while Mohun Bagan has four.
The win also had a broader context. East Bengal had just won the Indian Super League title in 2025-26, its first national top division league title in 22 years since the National Football League era of 2004. The Durand Cup, which is recognised as the official season opener in the AIFF calendar since 2021, therefore became a double celebration for the club and its supporters.
Organisation and Lasting Legacy: Three Trophies and the Armed Forces Link
How the tournament is organised
The Durand Cup is not run by a private league but by the Indian Armed Forces. The Durand Football Tournament Society works under the guidance of the Chief of Defence Staff and the Chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force, in close coordination with the All India Football Federation. This civil military partnership is a core reason the tournament has survived for more than 135 years through wars, Independence and the professionalisation of Indian football.
The Armed Forces see the tournament as a way to preserve heritage, promote physical fitness, encourage national integration by bringing together teams from every region, and give young players a high profile platform. In recent years the event has included a Trophy Tour, where the three trophies travel across host cities such as Shimla, Guwahati, Kokrajhar, Shillong and Kolkata before the opening match. In 2025, President Droupadi Murmu flagged off the trophies at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre in New Delhi, and the champions were later felicitated with the President’s Cup at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Why three trophies matter
Most football competitions give one cup. The Durand Cup gives three, each with its own story:
| Trophy | Nickname | History |
|---|---|---|
| Durand Cup | The Masterpiece | The original prize introduced in 1888, now a rolling trophy since 1965 |
| Shimla Trophy | The Artistry | Donated by residents of Shimla in 1904, rolling trophy since 1965 |
| President’s Cup | The Pride | Introduced in 1956 by President Rajendra Prasad to replace the Viceroy’s Trophy, given for permanent keep |
The tradition underlines why the tournament is called Desh Ka Cup or Many Champions One Legacy in official promotion.
Durand Cup vs Other Indian Football Tournaments
Many readers ask how the Durand Cup differs from other well known Indian competitions such as the Indian Super League (ISL) and the Santosh Trophy.
| Feature | Durand Cup | Indian Super League (ISL) | Santosh Trophy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature | Cup competition, knockout plus group stage, season opener | League plus playoffs, India’s top club league since 2014 | Knockout competition for state teams and government institutions |
| Founded | 1888, oldest in Asia | 2013, first season 2014 | 1941 |
| Organiser | DFTS and Indian Armed Forces with AIFF | Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) with AIFF | AIFF with state associations |
| Participants | Mix of ISL clubs, I-League clubs, Armed Forces teams and invited clubs, 24 teams in 2026 | Franchise clubs, 13 to 14 clubs in recent seasons | 36 state and institutional teams |
| Player base | Clubs from across the pyramid | Professional clubs with foreign player quota | State selected players, no foreign players |
| Significance | Heritage, civil military legacy, platform for young talent | Commercial league, determines India’s club ranking for AFC competitions | Platform to scout talent at state level |
The Durand Cup is therefore not a league replacement but a historic cup that bridges the Armed Forces, grassroots clubs and top professional teams before the ISL season begins.
Significance for Indian Football
The 2026 edition showed why the Durand Cup still matters. It gave competitive match time to ISL clubs before the league season, tested emerging players from clubs like Shillong Lajong, Bodoland FC, TRAU and NEROCA, and strengthened football in the northeast by hosting matches in Guwahati, Shillong and Imphal. The presence of Armed Forces teams keeps a direct link between service sports and professional football and supports the Army’s long role as a nursery for Indian talent.
For fans, a final that ended 4-1 in a packed Salt Lake Stadium reinforced the pull of the Kolkata Derby as the most watched domestic fixture in Indian football. For administrators, a tournament that now spans five states shows a model for spreading infrastructure, improving stadium facilities and building fan bases beyond metro cities.
The Way Forward
With 24 teams, six venues and a ₹3 crore prize pool, the Durand Cup has moved steadily from a Delhi centred event to a pan India carnival since 2019. Recent steps such as inviting foreign Army teams from Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan in past editions, live streaming on SonyLIV and digital ticketing have made it more accessible.
Maintaining pitch quality across multiple venues, ensuring clear scheduling with the ISL and I-League calendar, and keeping the three trophy tradition visible through city tours will be important for future growth. If the momentum of 2026 is kept, the tournament can continue to serve as both a heritage event and a practical testing ground for the next generation of Indian footballers in the season ahead.
Key Takeaways
- East Bengal FC won the 135th Durand Cup in 2026 by beating Mohun Bagan Super Giant 4-1 in the final at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (Salt Lake Stadium), Kolkata on 23 August 2026.
- Edmund Lalrindika scored a hat-trick in the 12th, 22nd and 44th minutes and Bipin Singh scored in the 10th minute, while Manvir Singh scored for Mohun Bagan in the 33rd minute.
- The title was East Bengal’s 17th Durand Cup, level with Mohun Bagan’s 17 titles as joint most successful teams, ending a 22 year wait since 2004.
- The Durand Cup was founded in 1888 at Annadale, Shimla by Sir Henry Mortimer Durand and is the oldest football tournament in Asia and the third oldest in the world.
- The tournament is organised by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS), set up in 1947, in collaboration with the All India Football Federation (AIFF, founded 23 June 1937) and the Indian Armed Forces.
- Winners receive three trophies: the rolling Durand Cup and Shimla Trophy (donated 1904) and the permanent President’s Cup (introduced 1956 by Dr Rajendra Prasad).
