The 9th OIL India Gold Cup Football Tournament 2026 is being held at the Nehru Maidan Sports Complex in Duliajan, Assam. Current reporting says the 2026 edition features 14 teams from across India and the Northeast and is being organised by Oil India Limited (OIL) under the technical guidance of the Assam Football Association (AFA).
The tournament has developed into an important football competition for the region. Reporting on the 2026 edition says the competition began its main rounds at Nehru Maidan after qualifying matches were held earlier in September.
Revised quarter-final schedule
According to the uploaded poster, the quarter-final stage consists of four matches
| Match | Teams | Date | Kick-off | Venue |
| G | Shillong Lajong FC vs Sudeva FC | 26 Sept 2026 | 6:00 PM | Nehru Maidan, Ground #1 |
| H | Kidderpore SC vs OIL India FC | 27 Sept 2026 | 3:00 PM | Nehru Maidan, Ground #1 |
| I | Punjab FC vs ASUFII FA, Manipur | 27 Sept 2026 | 7:00 PM | Nehru Maidan, Ground #1 |
| J | Sporting Club, Delhi vs NorthEast United FC | 29 Sept 2026 | 6:00 PM | Nehru Maidan, Ground #1 |
The participating-team list reported for the 2026 tournament includes Shillong Lajong FC, Sudeva FC, Punjab FC, NorthEast United FC, Sporting Club Delhi, Kidderpore SC, ASUFII Football Academy and Oil India FC, matching the teams shown in the poster’s knockout-stage fixtures.
Semi-final pathway
The poster also shows how the four quarter-final winners will progress:
Semi-final 1 — 30 September 2026, 6:00 PM
Winner of G
vs
Winner of I
That means the winner of Shillong Lajong FC vs Sudeva FC will meet the winner of Punjab FC vs ASUFII FA.
Semi-final 2 — 1 October 2026, 6:00 PM
Winner of H
vs
Winner of J
So the winner of Kidderpore SC vs OIL India FC will face the winner of Sporting Club Delhi vs NorthEast United FC.
Final
The poster lists the championship final for:
3 October 2026 — 6:00 PM
Winner of Semi-final K vs Winner of Semi-final L
Nehru Maidan Sports Complex, Ground #1
This creates a compact knockout finish, with the quarter-finals beginning on September 26 and the final scheduled for October 3.
Why the tournament is significant
The Oil India Gold Cup has a long connection with football in Duliajan. The competition was launched in 2005, and reporting describes it as a tournament that brings clubs from different parts of India together with teams from the Northeast.
The 2026 edition is particularly notable because the field combines established professional or high-level clubs with teams representing regional football academies and institutions. The published 14-team list includes teams from Delhi, Meghalaya, Punjab, Manipur, Kolkata, Guwahati, Numaligarh, Silchar and Duliajan, among other locations.
This gives the knockout rounds a distinctly national-versus-regional character. The quarter-final bracket shown in the poster contains teams from several different football centres rather than being dominated by clubs from one state.
OIL India FC’s quarter-final
One of the most locally significant matches is Kidderpore SC vs OIL India FC, scheduled for September 27 at 3 PM according to the poster.
OIL India FC is based in Duliajan and plays its home matches at Nehru Maidan. Historical club information identifies the side as an Oil India institutional football team established in 1964.
That makes the match especially relevant for local supporters because OIL India FC will be playing its knockout fixture at the same venue associated with the tournament and the club.
The result of this match will also determine one half of the second semi-final bracket: the winner will face the winner of Sporting Club Delhi vs NorthEast United FC on October 1.
Shillong Lajong and the opening quarter-final
The first quarter-final shown on the poster is Shillong Lajong FC vs Sudeva FC, scheduled for September 26 at 6 PM.
Shillong Lajong has a notable history in the Oil India Gold Cup. In the previous 2025 edition, Shillong Lajong reached the final, where it lost 2–0 to Diamond Harbour FC.
Therefore, the 2026 knockout appearance gives Shillong Lajong another opportunity to make a deep run in the competition.
NorthEast United FC’s route
Another important fixture is Sporting Club Delhi vs NorthEast United FC, scheduled for September 29 at 6 PM according to the poster.
NorthEast United FC is one of the best-known professional clubs from the Northeast and is based in Guwahati. Its inclusion adds a major professional-club presence to the knockout stage.
The winner will enter the second semi-final against the winner of Kidderpore SC vs OIL India FC.
Tournament background
The 2026 tournament reportedly began with 14 participating teams. The qualifying rounds took place from September 11 to 16 before the main competition moved to Nehru Maidan.
The opening match of the main round was between ASUFII Football Academy, Manipur and ASEB Sports Club, Guwahati, with ASUFII winning 2–0. W. John Singh, wearing No. 10, was named Man of the Match.
The tournament’s progression from qualifying rounds to the knockout stages demonstrates the competition’s structure: regional teams have the opportunity to enter the main draw before facing more established opponents.
Important verification note
There is a distinction between information visible in the uploaded poster and information independently confirmed online.
- Confirmed by current reporting: the 9th edition is taking place in Duliajan; Nehru Maidan is the main venue; 14 teams are participating; the tournament is organised by OIL under AFA technical guidance; and the competition is scheduled to culminate in a final on October 3.
- Taken directly from the uploaded revised-fixture poster: the specific quarter-final pairings, September 26/27/29 dates, semi-final dates of September 30 and October 1, and the October 3 6 PM final.
- I did not find an independent current source confirming every individual revised fixture shown in the poster, so those details should be presented as “according to the revised fixture circulated in the poster.”
Overall, the poster shows that the 9th OIL India Gold Cup 2026 has reached its decisive knockout phase, with four quarter-finals leading to two semi-finals and the championship final at Nehru Maidan in Duliajan. The tournament’s combination of clubs from outside Assam, Northeast teams and the local OIL India FC makes the final week particularly significant for football supporters in Duliajan and the wider Assam-Northeast region.