Beighton Cup’s 126th edition to be held in newly-built Vivekananda Hockey Stadium

The Beighton Cup has a new home, as its 126th edition will start at the newly built Vivekananda Hockey Stadium, situated adjacent to the iconic football stadium in Salt Lake in Kolkata, on Saturday.

With a capacity of 22,000, the Vivekananda Hockey Stadium is the largest international-standard hockey stadium in the country.

The oldest hockey tournament, featuring 21 teams – including top departmental sides such as defending champion Indian Navy, last year’s runner-up Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Punjab National Bank – will be played at the Vivekananda Stadium and Dumurjala ground, Howrah.

The semifinals will be played on November 15, followed by the final on November 16. The champion team will earn ₹10 lakh, while the runner-up will take home ₹5 lakh.

The tournament will be streamed live on the SSEN app.

A day after its virtual inauguration by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal Sports Minister Aroop Biswas and Fire and Emergency Services Minister and Hockey Bengal (HB) president Sujit Bose on Friday took a tour of the first full-fledged hockey stadium, featuring one concrete stand and three grass hills, in the state.

“The stadium, built at a cost of more than ₹20.53 crore, has all modern facilities. It’s a proud moment. We want to produce more Olympians,” said Biswas.

Bose urged hockey lovers to throng the stadium. “It’s free, there is no gate fee for the tournament,” said Bose, promising to start a women’s league sooner than later.

Both ministers expressed hope to conduct international matches at the new venue in the future.

Meanwhile, celebrating Indian hockey’s 100-year-old journey alongside other states, HB organised matches simultaneously in 20 districts.

Published on Nov 07, 2025