Federation Cup (India)

{{Short description|Football tournament in India}} {{For|the recherished cup competition|AIFF Super Cup}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Use Indian English|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox football tournament | logo = Federation Cup (India).svg | organiser = All India Football Federation | founded = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1977}} | abolished = 2017 (rebranded as AIFF Super Cup) | motto = ''Where Pride Meets Passion'' | number of teams = 32 | qualifier for = Indian Super Cup | region = India | current champions = Bengaluru (2nd title) | most successful club = Mohun Bagan (14 titles) | related comps = National Football League | domestic cup = Durand Cup | website = | broadcasters = | current = }}

The '''Federation Cup''' was an annual knockout football competition and the premier cup competition in men's domestic Indian football league system. Established in 1977, it is organized by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). In 2017,<ref>{{Cite web |title=AIFF Executive Committee inducts five new clubs into Hero I-League, Federation Cup restored |url=https://www.the-aiff.com/article/aiff-executive-committee-inducts-five-new-clubs-into-hero-i-league-federation-cup-restored |website=the-aiff.com}}</ref> The Federation Cup was briefly replaced by the Super Cup from 2017–18.

Bengaluru were the last champions, having defeated Mohun Bagan 2–0 in the 2017 final.<ref>{{cite web |first=Joseph |last=Solomon |url=https://www.the-aiff.com/article/bengaluru-fc-crowned-champions-of-hero-federation-cup |title=Bengaluru FC Crowned Champions of Hero Federation Cup |date=21 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128005652/https://www.the-aiff.com/article/bengaluru-fc-crowned-champions-of-hero-federation-cup |archive-date=28 November 2020 |website=the-aiff.com |access-date=8 July 2023}}</ref>

==History== In 1977, the All India Football Federation started the Federation Cup as the first club based national tournament in the country. Inaugural champion of the competition was the ITI (Indian Telephone Industries) who defeated Mohun Bagan in the final.<ref>{{cite web|title=List of Winners/Runners-Up of the Federation Cup|url=http://www.indianfootball.de/data/fedcup.html|access-date=24 March 2017|publisher=IndianFootball.de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315003131/http://www.indianfootball.de/data/fedcup.html|archive-date=15 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2015, the All India Football Federation announced that the Federation Cup will be put on hold to avoid scheduling conflict with the Indian Super League and the I-League.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.firstpost.com/sports/why-aiffs-decision-to-scrap-the-fed-cup-makes-sense-for-indian-football-2210806.html|title=Why AIFF's decision to scrap the Fed Cup makes sense for Indian football|work=Firstpost|date=24 April 2015|access-date=24 April 2015|archive-date=11 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711210459/https://www.firstpost.com/sports/why-aiffs-decision-to-scrap-the-fed-cup-makes-sense-for-indian-football-2210806.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After the Asian Football Confederation mandated that a club must play at least 18 matches in the season, the AIFF decided to revive the tournament under new format.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/AIFF-decides-to-bring-back-Federation-Cup/articleshow/49946258.cms|title=AIFF decides to bring back Federation Cup|newspaper=The Times of India |date=27 November 2015|access-date=13 February 2016|archive-date=29 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329181548/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/AIFF-decides-to-bring-back-Federation-Cup/articleshow/49946258.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> On 19 February 2018, the AIFF fully abolished the competition and formed the Super Cup as a replacement. In July 2023, the AIFF has decided again to revive the competition, but later it was postponed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AIFF Executive Committee inducts five new clubs into Hero I-League, Federation Cup restored |url=https://www.the-aiff.com/article/aiff-executive-committee-inducts-five-new-clubs-into-hero-i-league-federation-cup-restored |website=the-aiff.com}}</ref> On 2 March 2026, the AIFF released an RFP for commercial rights which included the Federation Cup, indicating a possible revival of the competition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR COMMERCIAL RIGHTS RELATING TO COMPETITIONS AND PROPERTIES OWNED BY THE ALL INDIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION |url=https://www.the-aiff.com/media/uploads/2026/03/RFP-dt.-2nd-March-2026-3.pdf}}</ref><ref>https://www.msn.com/en-in/money/markets/isl-federation-cup-rights-genius-sports-leads-bids-with-rs-2129-crore-offer/ar-AA1Zym7G?gemSnapshotKey=GM858270A3-snapshot-1&uxmode=ruby</ref>

==Venues== Matches during the Federation Cup were usually held at neutral venues around India. The final was also held in a neutral venue. From 2015, matches were played as two legged (home and away) knockout format.

==Results== ===Federation Cup finals=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |- !Year !style="background:gold"|Winners !style="background:silver"|Runners-up !Score |- |1977–78 |Indian Telephone Industries |Mohun Bagan |1–0 |- |1978–79 |Mohun Bagan and East Bengal |– |0–0 |- |1979–80 |BSF |Mafatlal Mills |2–2, 3–0 |- |1980–81 |Mohun Bagan (2) and East Bengal (2) |– |1–1 |- |1981–82 |Mohun Bagan (3) |Mohammedan |2–0 |- |1982–83 |Mohun Bagan (4) |Mafatlal Mills |1–0 |- |1983–84 |Mohammedan |Mohun Bagan |0–0, 2–0 |- |1984–85 |Mohammedan (2) |East Bengal |1–0 |- |1985 |East Bengal (3) |Mohun Bagan |1–0 |- |1986–87 |Mohun Bagan (5) |East Bengal |0–0 {{aet}} {{pso|5–4}} |- |1987–88 |Mohun Bagan (6) |Salgaocar |2–0 |- |1988–89 |Salgaocar |BSF |1–0 |- |1989–90 |Salgaocar (2) |Mohammedan Sporting |2–1 {{aet}} |- |1990 |Kerala Police |Salgaocar |2–1 |- |1991 |Kerala Police (2) |Mahindra & Mahindra |2–0 {{aet}} |- |1992 |Mohun Bagan (7) |East Bengal |2–0 |- |1993 |Mohun Bagan (8) |Mahindra & Mahindra |1–0 |- |1994 |Mohun Bagan (9) |Salgaocar |0–0 {{aet}} {{pso|3–0}} |- |1995 |JCT Mills |East Bengal |1–1 {{aet}} {{pso|7–6}} |- |1995–96 |JCT Mills (2) |East Bengal |1–1 {{aet}} {{pso|5–3}} |- |1996 |East Bengal (4) |Dempo |2–1 |- |1997 |Salgaocar (3) |East Bengal |2–1 |- |1998 |Mohun Bagan (10) |East Bengal |2–1 |- |1999 |colspan=3 rowspan=2| ''Not held'' |- |2000 |- |2001 |Mohun Bagan (11) |Dempo |2–1 |- |2002 |colspan=3|''Not held'' |- |2003 |Mahindra United |Mohammedan Sporting |1–0 |- |2004 |Dempo |Mohun Bagan |2–0 |- |2005 |Mahindra United (2) |Sporting Goa |2–1 |- |2006 |Mohun Bagan (12) |Sporting Goa |3–1 |- |2007 |East Bengal (5) |Mahindra United |2–1 |- |2008 |Mohun Bagan (13) |Dempo |1–0 |- |2009–10 |East Bengal (6) |Shillong Lajong |0–0 {{aet}} {{pso|3–0}} |- |2010 |East Bengal (7) |Mohun Bagan |1–0 |- |2011 |Salgaocar (4) |East Bengal |3–1 |- |2012 |East Bengal (8) |Dempo |3–2 {{aet}} |- |2013–14 |Churchill Brothers |Sporting Goa |3–1 |- |2014–15 |Bengaluru |Dempo |2–1 |- |2015–16 |Mohun Bagan (14) |Aizawl |5–0 |- |2016–17 |Bengaluru (2) |Mohun Bagan |2–0 {{aet}} |- |since 2017 |colspan=3| Replaced by Super Cup |- |}

*''a.e.t.'': After extra time *''pen.'': Score in penalty shootout

===Finalists=== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: left;" |- !Club !Final Appearances !Winner !Winning years !Runners-up !Runners-up years |- |Mohun Bagan ||20||14||1978*, 1980*, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2001, 2006, 2008, 2015–16 ||6||1977, 1983, 1985, 2004, 2010, 2016–17 |- |East Bengal ||16||8||1978*, 1980*, 1985, 1996, 2007, 2009-10, 2010, 2012||8||1984, 1986, 1992, 1995, 1996–97, 1997, 1998, 2011 |- |Salgaocar ||7||4||1988, 1989, 1997, 2011||3||1987, 1990, 1994 |- |Dempo ||6||1||2004||5||1996#, 2001, 2008, 2012, 2014–15 |- |Mohammedan ||5||2||1983, 1984||3||1981, 1989, 2003 |- |Mahindra United ||5||2||2003, 2005||3||1991, 1993, 2007 |- |Sporting Goa ||3||0||-||3||2005, 2006, 2013–14 |- |Bengaluru ||2||2||2014–15, 2016–17||0||-|- |- |JCT Mills ||2||2||1995, 1995-96||0||- |- |Kerala Police ||2||2||1990, 1991<ref name=aiff>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080120132816/http://www.the-aiff.com/federationcup.php Federation Cup]. the-aiff.com (archived)</ref>||0||- |- |Border Security Force ||2||1||1979||1||1988 |- |Indian Telephone Industries ||1||1||1977||0||- |- |Churchill Brothers ||1||1||2013–14||0||- |- |Shillong Lajong ||1||0||-||1||2009 |- |Aizawl ||1||0||-||1||2015–16 |}

*''*'' : Shared *''#'' : There were two federation cups in 1996

==Overall top goalscorers== {{updated|10 January 2015}}<ref name=Fed>{{cite web|url=https://www.the-aiff.com/news-center-details.htm?id=6148|title=From the history book, roll of honour|date=10 January 2015|access-date=12 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109234522/https://www.the-aiff.com/news-center-details.htm?id=6148|archive-date=9 January 2015|website=the-aiff.com|publisher=All India Football Federation|url-status=dead}}</ref> {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" |- !Rank !Player !Goals |- |1 |align="left"|{{flagicon|BRA}} Jose Ramirez Barreto |27 |- |2 |align="left"|{{flagicon|NGA}} Chima Okorie |26* |- |3 |align="left"|{{flagicon|IND}} Bhaichung Bhutia |25 |- |4 |align="left"|{{flagicon|NGA}} Chidi Edeh |23 |- |5 |align="left"|{{flagicon|NGA}} Ranti Martins |18 |- |rowspan=2|6 |align="left"|{{flagicon|IND}} I. M. Vijayan |rowspan=2|17 |- |align="left"|{{flagicon|NGA}} Odafa Onyeka Okolie |- |}

('''''Note.''' * Includes 7 goals scored in Eastern Zone Qualifiers at Sibsagar – 1990 Federation Cup'')

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Federation Cup (India) Category:Men's football competitions in India Football cup competitions in India Category:Defunct football competitions in India India Category:All India Football Federation competitions Category:1977 establishments in India Category:2017 disestablishments in India Category:Recurring sporting events established in 1977 Category:Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2017