65th Subroto Cup International Football Tournament Opens in New Delhi

Subroto Cup International Football Tournament 2026 began in the National Capital , New Delhi from 18th of August 2026 with 108 teams participating in three different age categories at the prestigious junior level competition. This year, in the first game Meghalaya win over the Chandigarh in Junior Girls Under-17 category.

Opening Ceremony of the 65th Subroto Cup 2026 – What happened?

The 65th Subroto Cup officially kicked off with the opening ceremony held on August 18, 2026 at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi.

This year’s ceremony saw Air Marshal S Sivakumar, Air Officer-in-Charge Administration and Vice Chairman of the Subroto Mukerjee Sports Education Society being present as the Chief Guest for the event.

Indian men’s national weightlifting team star Lovepreet Singh was present as the Guest of Honour for the ceremony.

In addition, this year’s ceremony saw the Air Warriors Drill Team and students of the Air Force Golden Jubilee Institute giving their performances on the occasion.

Football Matches

The first day of matches began with a Junior Girls Under-17 match between Meghalaya and Chandigarh.

Number of Teams in Subroto Cup 2026

In the 65th Subroto Cup, 108 teams will be participating in three categories as follows,

• Junior Girls – Under-17
• Junior Boys – Under-17
• Sub-Junior Boys – Under-15

These three categories have been split into eight groups and the group winners will qualify for the knockout rounds and from there onward to the finals of the tournament.

Importance of Subroto Cup

Subroto Cup plays a key role in promoting football in India at the grassroots level. Young talents get an opportunity to participate in national level tournaments, gain experience and display their footballing skills.

Tournaments like the Subroto Cup offer great exposure to the young talent that helps in encouraging them towards football at a more serious level.

Format of Subroto Cup 2026 Tournament

The tournament starts with the group stage and the three categories are split into eight groups. Teams will be fighting for positions and group winners will qualify for the knockout stage.

Finalists will be decided via the knockout phase and the tournament ends after the respective finals.

In the tournament of Subroto Cup 2026, 108 teams are taking part.