Star India will broadcast the inaugural edition of the Hero Super Cup 2018 in five languages – English, Tamil, Bangla, Kannada, and Malayalam – across six channels. The new event was announced in January by All India Football Federation (AIFF) to replace the 40-year-old Federation Cup.
The format of the 16-team affair involves top six sides each from Indian Super League and I-League with remaining four decided via a qualifying tournament between the bottom-placed four teams from each of the two leagues.
Minerva Punjab, NEROCA, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, Aizawl and Shillong Lajong from I League and Bengaluru, Chennaiyin, Goa, Pune City, Jamshedpur and Kerala Blasters from the ISL have directly booked a berth in the Super Cup.
I-League teams’ Churchill Brothers and Gokulam Kerala along with ATK and Mumbai City from ISL have reached the tournament proper through qualifier played over March 15 and 16.
The I-League sides Chennai City, Indian Arrows and ISL sides Delhi Dynamos, NorthEast United have failed to qualify for the inaugural event.
The tournament, scheduled from 31 March till 20 April, will be aired in English on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD, Kannada (Star Suvarna Plus), Tamil (Star Sports1 Tamil), Bangla (Jalsha Movies), and Malayalam (Asianet Movies). The tournament will also stream live on Hotstar.
A Star India spokesperson said, “ISL and I-League have given Indian football fans many reasons to celebrate the beautiful game and the recent success and competitiveness of both the leagues in India is an indicator of India’s ever-growing love for football. For the first time, Star will broadcast the Hero Super Cup in five languages which will enable football fans across the country to enjoy their favourite game in their favourite language.”
Star Sports is the premier destination for football fans in India with telecast rights of Indian as well as international football properties such as ISL, I-League, Premier League, German Bundesliga and now the Hero Super Cup is the latest addition to this star-studded line-up.
Super Cup will replace the four-decade-old Federation Cup. The annual knockout club football tournament started in 1977. Bengaluru FC are the reigning Federation Cup champions. FC. Since its inception, Mohun Bagan have bagged a record number of 14 Federation Cup titles.
Also Read: I-League vs ISL: AIFF to announce Indian Super Cup
