2023 Durand Cup

The 2023 Durand Cup (also known as IndianOil Durand Cup due to sponsorship ties with the Indian Oil Corporation) was the 132nd edition of Durand Cup, the oldest football tournament in Asia, and the second edition since it was supported by the Asian Football Confederation. The tournament is hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society in co-operation with the AIFF, Eastern Command of the Indian Armed Forces and the Government of West Bengal, supported by the Government of Assam. This year for the second time the tournament will be played in more than one city. This will be the second season of the tournament wherein all 12 clubs in the top tier Indian Super League have been mandated to participate, along with invited clubs from I-League, I-League 2 and regional league, and teams representing armed forces. Bengaluru FC were the defending champions, having defeated Mumbai City FC in the 2022 final. The 2023 IndianOil Durand Cup final saw the Kolkata club Mohun Bagan SG win their 17th Durand Cup title by defeating their arch-rivals East Bengal FC by 1-0.

Teams
The organization committee announced an increase in the number of teams from the previous edition. 19 Indian clubs and 5 services teams, from India, Nepal, and Bangladesh will play in this edition. This is the first time in 27 years a foreign team participates in the tournament.

The teams have been drawn into six groups of four each. Six group winners and the two best second-placed sides will make the knockout stage.

Venues
Initially, Imphal was drafted as a host city. However, due to the 2023 Manipur unrest, Guwahati was set as the replacement. A total of 43 matches are being played across 3 cities — Kolkata, Guwahati and Kokrajhar. 23 matches will be played in Kolkata, including the final, 11 matches in Guwahati, and 9 matches in Kokrajhar.

Trophy tour
Like the preceding season, the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) organized a trophy tour across 15 cities before the beginning of the tournament but with much more grandiosity. The tour was flagged off on 30 June from Manekshaw Centre in Delhi Cantonment in the presence of Gen. Manoj Pande, ACM VR Chaudhari and the AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey and toured upon Kartavya Path from India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhavan, later reaching Indian Military Academy in Dehradun on 2 July. The tour continued to Udhampur on 4 July, then to Pune on 6 July, where a grand reception was organized by the officers and cadets at National Defence Academy.

The trophies were received by the Army Officers Institute in Mumbai on 8 July and was publicly showcased at the Gateway of India and the Marine Drive. The tour continued to Jaipur on 9 July, where public showcasing was done at Amber Fort, Hawa Mahal, Jal Mahal, Albert Hall Museum and Jaipur Vidhan Sabha. The trophies were then unveiled at Indian Naval Academy in Ezhimala on 13 July. The tour in Kerala continued with the trophies being sailed on INS Vikrant at Southern Naval Command, Kochi in the presence of Rear Admiral Susheel Menon and IM Viajayan on 15 July. The trophies reached one of the host cities—Guwahati on 16 July. They were received by the Sports Minister of Assam Nandita Gorlosa and Lt. Gen. Rana Pratap Kalita.

The tour continued to Bangalore on 18 July, following to Shillong on 19 July, where the trophies were sailed across Umiam Lake and Orchid Lake and then brought to Kibithu as a part of tribute offering to India's first Chief of Defence Staff—Gen. Bipin Rawat at General Bipin Rawat Garrison. The trophies traveled to Hyderabad, visiting the Air Force Academy on 20 July and then on 22 July, the trophies reached another host city—Kokrajhar in the presence of Chaubey, the CEM of the BTC Pramod Boro and Maj. Gen. Dinesh Hooda. The trophy tour was flagged in on 25 July in Kolkata which was commemorated by first ever BASE jump in the city taking place from the top of The 42, led by Lt. Col. Satyandra Verma and Gp. Capt. Kamal Singh Oberh.

Official song
On 10 August 2023, Durand Cup Official theme song and a music video featuring Vicky Kaushal were released. The song was titled "Bhide" in Hindi which was sung by Arijit Singh, and Divine, composed by Arijit Singh and written by Amitabh Bhattacharya & Divine.

Broadcasting
Sony Sports Network have acquired the broadcasting rights of Durand Cup for three editions, starting from 2023. The 2023 edition will be live streamed on the network's OTT platform SonyLIV as well as TV channels Sony Ten 2 and Sony Ten 2 HD.

Hat-tricks
4 Player scored 4 goals
 * Notes

Player

 * Most yellow cards: 2
 * Md. Mizanur Rahman


 * Most red cards: 1
 * Md. Mizanur Rahaman
 * 🇮🇳 Nishu Kumar
 * 🇮🇳 Liton Shil
 * 🇮🇳 Dettol Moirangthem
 * 🇮🇳 Ngamsanglena Haokip
 * 🇮🇳 Bhabindra Malla Thakuri
 * 🇮🇳 Hormipam Ruivah
 * 🇮🇳 Anirudh Thapa

Club

 * Most yellow cards: 3
 * Bangladesh Army


 * Most red cards: 2
 * 🇮🇳 Indian Army

Prize money
The total pool of prize money for the 2023 edition is inr 8900000.