Tribhuvan Army Football Club is set to participate in the 132nd edition of the prestigious Durand Cup 2023 as an invited team. TAFC has been grouped with ISL sides Chennaiyin FC, Hyderabad FC & I-league side Delhi fc.
The 2023 new edition of Asia's oldest football tournament Durand Cup will start from 3 August – 3 September in 4 different cities of India Kolkata, Guwahati, Shillong and Kokrajhar.
This is the first time in 27 years of tournament history an invited team is being called for the participation. TAFC from Nepal is the first to participate including other services teams from Bangladesh Army also.
23 Participating Teams in Durand Cup 2023:
- ISL Teams = 12
- I-League Teams= 5
- Armed Forces Teams= 4
- Invited Teams = 2 (1 each from Nepal, Bangladesh & Bhutan)
Group Divisions of Durand Cup 2023:
Group A:
- Mohun Bagan Super Giant
- East Bangal
- Round Glass Punjab
- Bangladesh Army Team
Group B:
- Mumbai City FC
- Jamshedpur FC
- Mohammedan SC
- Indian Navy
Group C:
- Bengaluru FC
- Kerala Blasters
- Gokulam Kerala
- Indian Air Force
Group D:
- FC Goa
- Northeast United
- Shillong Lajong
Group E:
- Odisha FC
- Rajasthan FC
- Bodoland FC
- Indian Army
Durand Cup 2023 format:
Group Stage: All the 24 participating teams will be divided in to 4 groups each of 6 teams. Each team will face off each other within their group once. At the end top 2 teams ( group winners & runners up) from each group will advance to knockout stage.
Knockout Stage: The 8 teams from the group stage will compete in the quarterfinals followed by 2 Semifinals & 1 Final.