MUMBAI: While Kochi and Cuttack have been listed as possible venues for the inaugural Super Cup , sources have told TOI that the former is likely to get the final nod pending inspections scheduled next week. Sixteen teams will participate in the final round of the knockout tournament which will be held from March 31-April 22.

To host a tournament involving the top teams on the country (all ISL and I-League teams) requires excellent infrastructure in terms of training pitches and accommodations.

“The Barabati Stadium which is where the AIFF want to host the event is used for both football and cricket and hence has a cricket pitch in the centre of the ground. The Kochi ground too has a cricket pitch but it was covered well because of the U-17 World Cup last year. Also, you need to provide accommodation for 16 teams, which is a lot to ask from Cuttack,” the source said.

AIFF officials though said that both the venues will be inspected sometime next week and a decision will be taken thereafter.

“Since the tournament is clashing with the Indian Premier League (IPL), we wanted non-IPL venues and therefore shortlisted these two (Cuttack and Kochi). The Odisha football officials contacted us and assured us that they could host the tournament as well as provide accommodation. So we’ll inspect it and take it from there,” I-League CEO Sunando Dhar said.

When asked why Goa wasn’t shortlisted, Dhar said that they host quite a lot of tournaments there and so wanted other centres to host it. The AIFF has also been receiving a lot of criticism on social media for having the event as a knockout tournament, as opposed to a 8-team round-robin format.

