The draw for the 2019 Super Cup, which begins on 15 March and ends on 13 April has been made. Along with it, the fixtures have been also released as the Indian cup competition is set for a reprise at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar.
The format of the tournament remains the same from the inaugural edition. However, Shillong Lajong, who finished bottom in the current 11-team I-League season won't make it to the competition.
The 2019 Super Cup will have 20 teams as participants, with the top six teams of Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League getting a direct entry. The bottom four teams of ISL and the teams placed seventh to 10th in I-League will have to play qualifiers.
A total of four qualifiers will take place in two days - March 15 and 16. Pune City and Kerala Blasters, who finished 7th and 9th respectively in the ISL will be on action on the opening day while Delhi Dynamos and ISL wooden spooners Chennaiyin feature on day two.
Chennaiyin will have only two days turnaorund time to travel to Bhubaneshwar and face either Indian Arrows or Aizawl FC after they wrap up their 2019 AFC Cup playoff second leg game against Colombo FC in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, 13 March.
While the evening games kick-off at 5:00 PM, the probability of extra-time in the knockout games sees the late kick-off pushed back to 8:30 PM, an hour later than usual league games.
The Round of 16 will take place after the international break. While the senior India team have no games lined up, the Indian U23 team will travel to Uzbekistan to participate in a couple of qualifiers.
From the quarterfinal onwards, there will be only one game per day. The kickoff timings still remain 8:30 PM in order to neagate the extreme heat conditions in the Odisha capital.
The quarter-finals will be played from 4 April through 7 April. The semi-finals are scheduled to be played on 9 and 10 April and the grand finale will be held on Saturday, 13 April.
