The year 2024 was packed with excitement for Indian football fans. From the very beginning, it had all the elements of a classic Bollywood masala movie. Let’s take a quick journey through the highlights of this action-packed year and witness how Indian football evolved this year.
NB: The year 2024 refers to the calendar year, with moments from both the 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons.
January
January 01: The winter transfer window officially opened, kickstarting player movements across leagues.
January 04: The Indian Women’s League (IWL) 2023–24 season continued with Round 4 matches.
January 08: The 4th Kalinga Super Cup, the first major football event of the year, began in Odisha. Sixteen teams participated, including all 12 ISL clubs and the top three I-League teams—Sreenidhi Deccan, Gokulam Kerala, and Shillong Lajong. Inter Kashi claimed the final spot by defeating Rajasthan United in a playoff.
January 20: The 2023–24 I-League 2 season kicked off, featuring eight teams—Bengaluru United, Dempo, Kenkre, Maharashtra Oranje, Sporting Bengaluru, Sporting Goa, Sudeva Delhi, and United SC. The competition served as the promotion pathway to the I-League 2024–25.
January 24–25: The Super Cup semifinals saw East Bengal FC, Jamshedpur FC, Mumbai City FC, and Odisha FC advance from the group stages. East Bengal defeated Jamshedpur 2–0, while Odisha edged past Mumbai City 1–0 to set up a dramatic final.
January 28: The Super Cup final delivered a thriller, as Cleiton Silva’s extra-time goal secured a 3–2 victory for East Bengal FC over Odisha FC. The win ended East Bengal’s 12-year trophy drought and denied Odisha a successful title defense.
Here are the individual awards of the Super Cup.
| Award | Winner | Team |
| Player of the Tournament | Isak Vanlalruatfela | Odisha |
| Highest Goalscorer | Cleiton Silva | East Bengal |
| Best Midfielder | Ahmed Jahouh | Odisha |
| Best Defender | Hijazi Maher | East Bengal |
| Best Goalkeeper | Lalthuammawia Ralte | Odisha |
January 31: League football resumed after the international break, with Jamshedpur held to a 1–1 draw by NorthEast United in the ISL at The Furnace. The Winter Transfer Window officially came to an end.
Some notable transfers
| Teams | Players (previous club in bracket) |
| Bengaluru FC | Nikhil Poojary (Hyderabad FC) Chinglensana Singh (Hyderabad FC) |
| FC Goa | Borja Herrera (East Bengal FC) Mohammad Yasir (Hyderabad FC) |
| Jamshedpur FC | Javier Siverio (East Bengal FC) |
| Kerala Blasters FC | Fedor Cernych (AEL Limassol, Lithuania NT Captain) |
| Mumbai City FC | Thaer Krouma (Al-Fotuwa, Syria NT Regular) Iker Guarrotxena (Real Murcia, previously played for FC Goa) |
| NorthEast United FC | Tomi Juric (Melbourne Victory) |
| Odisha FC | Hitesh Sharma (Hyderabad FC) Vignesh Dakshinamurthy (Hyderabad FC, on loan) |
February
February 03: The I-League resumed with Shillong Lajong losing 1–0 to Inter Kashi at their home ground.
February 21–27: The Indian Women’s team participated in the Turkish Women’s Cup, emerging as the runners-up. They won against Estonia (4–3) and Hong Kong (2–0), while losing to Kosovo (0–1), finishing second in the tournament.
March
March 01–10: The Indian Women’s U-16 side became the runners-up in the SAFF U-16 Championship, losing out on penalties (2–3) to Bangladesh after a 1–1 draw in the final.
March 04–05: The knockout rounds of the 77th Santosh Trophy began with the quarterfinals held in Arunachal Pradesh.
March 07: Services and Goa made it into the final of the Santosh Trophy, defeating Mizoram and Manipur in the semifinals, respectively.
March 07: Odisha FC played Central Coast Mariners away from home in the Inter-Zone Semi-Finals of the AFC Cup and were defeated 4–0.
March 09: Services won the Santosh Trophy, defeating Goa 1–0 in the final.
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Top Scorer | Phijam Sanathoi Meitei | Manipur |
| Best Goalkeeper | Sayad bin Abdul Kadir | Services |
| Player of the Tournament | Samir Murmu | Services |
March 14: Odisha FC held Central Coast Mariners (CCM) to a goalless draw at the Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar.
March 21: India played Afghanistan in a frustrating 1–1 draw in the second round of FIFA World Cup 2026 – Asian Cup 2027 joint qualification.
March 24: Odisha FC defeated Kickstart FC 6–0 in the final matchday of the Indian Women’s League (IWL), securing their first-ever IWL title and qualifying for the preliminary stage of the AFC Women’s Champions League.
March 26: India lost 1–2 to Afghanistan in the same qualification round, this time at the home turf in Guwahati.
April
April 13: The 2023–24 I-League came to a close with Delhi FC defeating Mohammedan SC 3–1 in the final match (as per the schedule). Despite losing, the Kolkata giants were crowned champions and earned promotion to the ISL 2024–25, ensuring the presence of all three big Bengal clubs in the top-flight league.
| Pos | Team | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohammedan SC | Promotion to ISL |
| 2 | Sreenidi Deccan | |
| 3 | Gokulam Kerala | |
| 4 | Inter Kashi | |
| 5 | Real Kashmir | |
| 6 | Delhi FC | |
| 7 | Churchill Brothers | |
| 8 | Shillong Lajong | |
| 9 | Namdhari | |
| 10 | Aizawl FC | |
| 11 | Rajasthan United | |
| 12 | Neroca | Relegation to I-League 2 |
| 13 | Trau |
April 15: The ISL league stage concluded with a thrilling shield decider between Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City. The hosts, Mohun Bagan, secured a 2–1 win, clinching both the game and the coveted league shield.
| Pos | Team | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohun Bagan SG | ISL Cup SFs and 2024-’25 ACL 2 GS |
| 2 | Mumbai City | ISL Cup SFs |
| 3 | FC Goa | ISL Cup KOs |
| 4 | Odisha FC | |
| 5 | Kerala Blasters | |
| 6 | Chennaiyin FC | |
| 7 | NorthEast United | |
| 8 | Punjab FC | |
| 9 | East Bengal | ACL 2 Preliminary Stage |
| 10 | Bengaluru FC | |
| 11 | Jamshedpur FC | |
| 12 | Hyderabad FC |
April 19–20: Odisha FC hosted Kerala Blasters in Playoff 1, with the hosts advancing after an extra-time winner by Ahmed Jahouh. In Playoff 2, Goa defeated Chennaiyin 2–1 at Fatorda, spoiling Chennaiyin’s celebrations of returning to the ISL playoffs after 4 years.
April 23–24: Leg 1 of the semifinals. In SF-1, Goa was stunned by last-minute heroics from Mumbai, as the visitors scored 3 goals within 6 minutes to secure a 2–3 comeback victory. In SF-2, Odisha FC edged Mohun Bagan with a 2–1 win at their home ground.
April 27: Sporting Club Bengaluru were crowned the 2023-24 I-League 2 champions. Dempo SC finished second and joined them as the two promoted teams for the 2024-25 I-League season. Maharashtra Oranje FC and Mumbai Kenkre FC were relegated from the 2023-24 I-League 2.
April 28–29: Leg 2 of the semifinals. In both SFs, the home teams secured comfortable 2–0 victories, with the final scores being 5–2 (Mumbai vs Goa) and 3–2 (Mohun Bagan vs Odisha).
May
May 04: Mohun Bagan suffered a 1–3 defeat in the ISL Final at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) despite taking an early lead in front of their fans. Mumbai City mounted a late comeback, scoring in the dying minutes to avenge their earlier loss in the league shield battle.
May 16: Indian Football Captain Sunil Chhetri announced his retirement from international football, marking the end of a glorious chapter in Indian football history.
June
June 06: Sunil Chhetri bid adieu to international football after playing his final match against Kuwait, which ended in a 0–0 draw. The legendary face of Indian Football finishes his international career in 4th position on the list of all-time national team goal scorers, with 94 goals from 151 appearances. He is also the second-highest Asian goal scorer of all time, behind Iran’s Ali Daei. His retirement marks the end of an era in Indian football, leaving uncertainty over who will step up as his successor in the goal-scoring department.
June 21: A charity showdown took place at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Aizawl, featuring Mizo players from the ISL and I-League to raise funds for victims of Cyclone Remal. The match ended in a 2–2 draw.
June 24: Following the Indian team’s poor run in the new calendar year, including a winless AFC Asian Cup campaign and a second-round exit in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification, Croatian coach Igor Stimac was sacked as the head coach of the senior team. The decision raised challenges for the AIFF due to the terms of his contract.
July
July 20: Spaniard Manolo Marquez, also the coach of FC Goa, was appointed as the national team head coach following the sacking of Igor Stimac. Marquez, who needs no introduction, led Hyderabad FC to their first domestic success in the 2021–22 season by winning the ISL Cup. In his four completed seasons in the ISL, he managed to take his teams to the playoffs three times, with his worst performance being a 5th-place finish during the 2020–21 ISL campaign with Hyderabad FC.
July 27: Domestic football in India kicked off with the 133rd edition of the Durand Cup.
August
August 1-4: PL Next Gen was held at the Aston Villa Training Ground in London, with Muthoot FC, Punjab FC, and East Bengal participating from India. Punjab FC secured 3rd place in the championship by defeating Aston Villa 2-0 in the 3rd place playoff, marking the best achievement of an Indian side in the tournament.
August 14: East Bengal failed to make it to the final stage of the AFC Champions League (ACL 2) after losing 2-3 to Altyn Asyr in the qualifying playoffs, thus falling to the AFC Challenge League.
August 19-26: The Indian U-20 team were eliminated from the SAFF U-20 Championship by Bangladesh in the semifinals, losing in a penalty shootout (3-4) after a 1-1 draw in regular time.
August 21: The knockout stages of the Durand Cup began with the quarterfinals: NorthEast United vs Indian Army, Shillong Lajong vs East Bengal, Mohun Bagan vs Punjab FC, and Bengaluru FC vs Kerala Blasters.
August 26-27: NorthEast United (3-0) and Mohun Bagan (penalties) progressed to the finals of the Durand Cup, defeating Shillong Lajong and Bengaluru FC in the semifinals, respectively.
August 25-31: Odisha FC Women qualified for the group stage of the AFC Women’s Champions League after topping their preliminary group.
August 31: NorthEast United won their first national trophy, defeating defending champions Mohun Bagan in a penalty shootout (4-3) after a 2-2 draw in regular time in the Durand Cup final.
| Award | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Golden glove | Gurmeet Singh | Northeast United FC |
| Golden boot | Noah Sadaoui | Kerala Blasters FC |
| Golden ball | Jithin MS | Northeast United FC |
September
September 13: The 11th season of the Indian Super League (ISL) kicked off at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) Salt Lake Stadium with a thrilling 2-2 draw between Mohun Bagan and Mumbai City FC, the Shield and Cup winners, respectively, of the previous edition.
September 20-30: The Indian U-17 team triumphed in the U-17 SAFF Championship, defeating Bangladesh 2-0 in the final to claim the title.
September 25-29: Heartbreak struck the Indian U-20 team once again as they failed to qualify for the final round of the AFC U-20 Asian Cup 2025. Despite winning their remaining two matches, they suffered a 0-1 loss to Iran (on September 27), which ended their hopes of qualification.
October
October 6-12: Odisha FC Women faced a humiliating group stage exit in the AFC Women’s Champions League, failing to register a single win. The team scored just 1 goal while conceding 24 in the group stage.
October 7: AFC officially announced the withdrawal of Mohun Bagan from the AFC Champions League 2. The club failed to appear in Iran, citing safety concerns for players due to the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict.
October 17-27: The Indian Women’s team was eliminated from the SAFF Championship after failing to make it to the finals. The side lost in penalties (2-4) following a 1-1 draw in regular time of the semifinals.
October 23-27: Heartbreak for the U-17 team as well, as they failed to qualify for the AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2025. Despite winning their other two matches, including a massive 13-0 victory over Brunei, they lost 2-3 to Thailand.
October 26-November 1: East Bengal successfully qualified for the knockout stages of the AFC Challenge League after an impressive group stage performance, winning 2 matches (against Bashundhara Kings and Nejmeh FC) and drawing 1 (against Paro FC).
November
November 15: The 78th edition of the Santosh Trophy kicked off in Hyderabad.
November 22: The I-League season commenced after a brief period of uncertainty regarding club participation, stemming from a dispute over the league’s telecast. Gokulam Kerala triumphed 3-2 against Sreenidi, securing an away victory.
December
December 26-27: The knockout stages of the Santosh Trophy began with the quarterfinals.
December 29: West Bengal and Kerala advanced to the finals of the Santosh Trophy, defeating Manipur and Services, respectively.
December 30: The final match of the ISL in 2024 was played, with NorthEast securing a dominant 3-0 away win against Mumbai City.
December 31: West Bengal defeated Kerala in the stoppage time of Santosh Trophy courtesy to the goal Hasnda.
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