2021 Durand Cup

The 2021 Durand Cup was the 130th edition of Durand Cup, the oldest football tournament in Asia. Like its previous edition, the tournament was hosted in West Bengal. The tournament is jointly hosted by the Eastern Command of the Indian Armed Forces and the Government of West Bengal.

The Durand Cup was cancelled in 2020 due to worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and was reorganised in 2021 after a year gap. Gokulam Kerala were the defending champions, having defeated Mohun Bagan in the 2019 final.

Mohammedan made their first Durand Cup final appearance since 2013 against debutants FC Goa. The match went into the extra time with no goal from either side. Goan captain Edu Bedia's 105th minute solitary goal sealed Goa's victory against Mohammedan. Goa became the fourth Goan team to win the Durand Cup after Salgaocar, Dempo and Churchill Brothers.

Teams
A total of 16 teams participated in the competition; 5 clubs from Indian Super League, 3 clubs from I-League, 2 clubs from I-League 2nd Division and 6 teams representing the Indian Armed Forces.

ATK Mohun Bagan and East Bengal were invited to be part of the tournament but most of the first team players of ATK Mohun Bagan were on international break and also had their AFC Cup knockouts coinciding with the Durand Cup fixtures, thus they backed out from the tournament, while East Bengal refused participation because of investor issues. Since this year India celebrates golden jubilee of its victory over Pakistan for the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, DFTS invited Mohammedan SC and Sk. Jamal Dhanmondi Club from Bangladesh to participate in the 130th edition of the tournament. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh, the clubs were unable to confirm their participation.

Co-sponsors

 * Coal India
 * State Bank of India
 * ITC
 * SERVO IndianOil

Associate sponsors

 * GAIL
 * Kalyani Group
 * Pramerica Life Insurance
 * JIS Group

Supported by

 * GRSE
 * Adani Defence & Aerospace
 * Tata Advanced Systems
 * TABLT Pharmacy
 * Gloster
 * Hindustan Aeronautics

Tournament partner

 * IFA W.B.
 * Cherry Tree

Streaming and radio partner

 * Addatimes
 * SonyLIV (only semifinals and final)
 * 91.9 Friends FM

Source: Durand Cup

Top scorers
Note: Only top goal scorers with 3 or more goals are mentioned.

Hatricks
Note: Player's team score mentioned first

Golden glove for best goalkeeper

 * 🇮🇳 Naveen Kumar (Goa)

Golden boot for top scorer

 * Marcus Joseph (Mohammedan)

Golden ball for best player

 * 🇪🇸 Edu Bedia (Goa)