Durand Cup: Can ISL Clubs Break Mohun Bagan-East Bengal Reign?

The 133rd Durand Cup is set to kick off the 2024-25 football season on July 27 in Kolkata, with defending champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant facing Downtown Heroes FC. The tournament will feature 24 teams competing in a round-robin league format, with six group winners and two best second-placed teams advancing to the knockout round, as per a press release from the Indian Super League (ISL). Group A of this century-old domestic tournament includes two record-holding title winners: Mohun Bagan SG and East Bengal FC. They will be joined by Downtown Heroes FC and Indian Air Force FT, representing the armed forces from India.

The two finalists from the 2023 Durand Cup are once again pitted in the same group for the third consecutive time. Moreover, the Mariners and the Red and Gold Brigade are the two most successful teams in this tournament, with the Kolkata giants having won the title a record 33 times, with Mohun Bagan getting 17 of these titles.

Last year, East Bengal FC and Mohun Bagan SG met twice: once in the group stage and once in the final. Although Carles Cuadrat's East Bengal side bested their rivals in the group stage, the Mariners triumphed in the final, claiming their 17th Durand Cup title.

The two teams will once again clash in the iconic Kolkata Derby in the final match of Group A at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan. The result of this high-stakes encounter could determine which Kolkata-based team advances to the knockout rounds.

Downtown Heroes FC, making their second consecutive appearance in the Durand Cup after debuting last season, is a relatively new club founded in 2020. Based in Jammu and Kashmir, they focus on developing young talent. They also participated in the 2022-23 I-League Division 2 but