Shri H.M. Patel, ICS, Defence Secretary, the first President of the Tournament Committee, advised that the tournament should be registered under the Societies Act, so that the tournament not be claimed by any other organization. Accordingly, on 20 Dec 1958, the Durand Tournament got registered under the Societies Registration Act as ‘Durand Football Tournament Society’. It was also stipulated in the Rules, Regulations and Bye Laws of the Society that the Durand Football Tournament Society would be headed by the three Service Chiefs.
The main aim of Durand Football Tournament Society is to promote Football in the country by conducting Durand tournament annually. The tournament is open to all club teams in the country and conducted under the aegis of All India Football Federation. Durand Tournament emerged as the most prestigious tournament in the country along with IFA Shield of Calcutta and Rovers Football Tournament of Mumbai. Amongst these tournaments, Durand Cup has maintained its original character, vision and prestige. The support of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Sports Ministry, Govt of India and the three Services has been most forthcoming.
The tournament was moved to Goa in 2014 and then to Kolkata since 2019. The tournament is conducted on League cum Knockout format. In the 133rd Edition of Durand Cup (2024), 24 teams participated including two services teams from Bangladesh and Nepal. NationalI-League Teams are seeded directly in league round and Services Football Champion team is also seeded directly to Quarter Final round.
The 133rd Edition of Durand Cup(2024) was conducted at Kolkata, Jamshedpur, Shillong and Kokrajhar from 26 Jul to 31 Aug 2024. The final match was graced by General Anil Chauhan, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM,Chief of Defence Staff, Chairman COSC & President DFTS, GOC-in-C Eastern Command& other Govt officials/dignitaries. The winner of 133rd Edition was North East United FC which defeated Mohun BaganSGin penalty shootouts with score 2(2) - 2(3).
Durand Football Tournament Society has taken a transformative approach to better the conduct of the Tournament. While the vision would remain the same i.e. promote football as an important and popular sport in the country, there is a thought to improve the format of conduct to make the event more attractive and popular.