| Hero Super Cup | |
|---|---|
 Kalinga Stadium hosted the final on 20 April 2018 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Country | India |
| Venue(s) | Kalinga Stadium,Bhubaneswar |
| Dates | 15 – 16 Match (qualifiers) 31 March – 20 April (main competition) |
| Teams | 20 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Bengaluru(1st title) |
| Runners-up | East Bengal |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 19 |
| Goals scored | 67 (3.53 per match) |
| Attendance | 53,969 (2,840 per match) |
| Top goal scorer | Sunil Chhetri (6 goals) |
| Awards | |
| Best player | Miku |
The2018 AIFF Super Cup, officially known as the2018 Hero Super Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the inaugural edition of theSuper Cup and the 39th season of the nationalknockoutfootball competition inIndia. The competition was sponsored byHero MotoCorp. The Super Cup replaced theFederation Cup as the national knockout competition.[1][2] The competition began with the qualifiers on 15 March 2018 and concluded with the final on 20 April 2018.[3] The entire tournament took place in theKalinga Stadium,Bhubaneswar.[3]
The competition featured teams from both theI-League and theIndian Super League.[4] Both leagues contain 10 teams each; the top six teams from both qualified for the tournament automatically, while the bottom four sides contested in the qualifiers.[4]
Bengaluru won the title by defeatingEast Bengal in thefinal.
A total of 16 teams are participating in the competition proper.[4] The top six teams from both theI-League andIndian Super League qualified for the Super Cup automatically while the bottom four sides have participated in the qualifiers.[4]
| Qualification round (8 teams)[note 1] | Main competition (12 teams)[note 2] |
|
|
On 12 March 2018, theAll India Football Federation announced the schedule and full format of the tournament.[5] Due to the participation ofAizawl andBengaluru in theAFC Cup, the schedule for the quarter-finals shall be decided at a later date.[5]
| Phase | Round | Match dates |
|---|---|---|
| Qualification round | 15–16 March 2018 | |
| Main tournament | Round of 16 | 31 March – 6 April 2018 |
| Quarter-finals | 8–13 April 2018 | |
| Semi-finals | 16–17 April 2018 | |
| Final | 20 April 2018 | |
| Qualification round | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||||||||||
| 31 March | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aizawl(pen.) | 2 (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chennaiyin | 2 (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 April | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aizawl | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Bengal | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 April | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Bengal | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 March | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mumbai City | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mumbai City(a.e.t.) | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 April | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Arrows | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Bengal | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goa | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 April | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minerva Punjab | 0 (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jamshedpur(pen.) | 0 (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 April | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jamshedpur | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goa | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 April | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goa | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 March | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ATK | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ATK | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20 April | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chennai City | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Bengal | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 March | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bengaluru | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Delhi Dynamos | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 April | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Churchill Brothers(a.e.t.) | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Churchill Brothers | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mohun Bagan | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 April | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mohun Bagan | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shillong Lajong | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 April | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pune City | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shillong Lajong | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17 April | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mohun Bagan | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bengaluru | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 April | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bengaluru | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 March | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gokulam Kerala | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| NorthEast United | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13 April | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gokulam Kerala | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bengaluru | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| NEROCA | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 April | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| NEROCA | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kerala Blasters | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
After the conclusion of theI-League andIndian Super League seasons, theAll India Football Federation announced the draw for the qualification round of the Super Cup.[6]
| Delhi Dynamos | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Churchill Brothers |
|---|---|---|
Uche 6' | Report | Plaza 34',106' |
| NorthEast United | 0–2 | Gokulam Kerala |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Kisekka 43',74' |
| Mumbai City | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Indian Arrows |
|---|---|---|
| Emaná 90' (pen.) Santos 104' | Report | Praveen 77' |
TheAll India Football Federation announced the draw for the round of 16 of the competition on 12 March 2018.[7]
| Churchill Brothers | 1–2 | Mohun Bagan |
|---|---|---|
| Plaza 30' | Report | Dipanda 45+3' (pen.),70' |
| Pune City | 2–3 | Shillong Lajong |
|---|---|---|
| Lucca 17' Marcelinho 21' | Report | Koffi 29' Pradhan 61'Lalmuanpuia 90+2' (pen.) |
| Mumbai City | 1–2 | East Bengal |
|---|---|---|
| Emaná 22' | Report | Yusa 26' Amnah 73' |
The dates for the quarter-final matches were scheduled to be announced at a later date to accommodateAFC Cup commitments ofAizawl andBengaluru.[7] AfterAizawl andBengaluru advanced to the quarter-finals, the following fixtures were confirmed for the quarter-finals.[8] During the game betweenJamshedpur FC andFC Goa, six players (three each from both the teams) weresent off at the half-time for violent conduct.[9] In the games againstNEROCA F.C.,Sunil Chhetri scored the first hat-trick of the tournament.
| Aizawl | 0–1 | East Bengal |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Ralte 90+6' (pen.) |
| Jamshedpur | 1–5 | Goa |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
The semi-finals were played on 16 April and 17 April 2018 at theKalinga Stadium.[7]
| East Bengal | 1–0 | Goa |
|---|---|---|
| Dudu 78' | Report |
| Mohun Bagan | 2–4 | Bengaluru |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
The final was played on 20 April 2018 at theKalinga Stadium and Bengaluru won the inaugural Super Cup by defeating East Bengal in the final.[7]
Robbie Keane (ATK)
Udanta Singh (Bengaluru)Rahul Bheke (Bengaluru)
Maílson Alves (Chennaiyin)Dhanachandra Singh (Chennaiyin)
Willis Plaza (Churchill Brothers)
Katsumi Yusa (East Bengal)
Mahmoud Amnah (East Bengal)
Dudu Omagbemi (East Bengal)Laldanmawia Ralte (East Bengal)
Ansumana Kromah (East Bengal)Manvir Singh (Goa)
Henry Kisekka (Gokulam Kerala)Ashim Biswas (Jamshedpur)
Pulga (Kerala Blasters)Prasanth Karuthadathkuni (Kerala Blasters)Sheikh Faiaz (Mohun Bagan)Nikhil Kadam (Mohun Bagan)
Akram Moghrabi (Mohun Bagan)
Achille Emaná (Mumbai City)
Jean-Michel Joachim (NEROCA)
Aryn Williams (NEROCA)Felix Chidi Odili (NEROCA)Pritam Singh (NEROCA)Jonatan Lucca (Pune City)Marcelinho (Pune City)Rakesh Pradhan (Shillong Lajong)Samuel Lalmuanpuia (Shillong Lajong)
