East Bengal entered the 2012 IFA Shield as one of the I-League playing teams from Kolkata and were allocated into Group A alongside Shillong Lajong and Bhawanipore FC. In the opening game against Bhawanipur, East Bengal managed a 2–1 victory with striker Robin Singh scoring a brace. Biswajit Biswas scored the goal for Bhawanipur.[4] In the second group game against Shillong Lajong, East Bengal managed a comfortable 3–0 win with goals from Tolgay Ozbey, Gurwinder Singh and Robin Singh, to secure a place in the semis.[5] In the Semi Final, East Bengal club faced Pailan Arrows, the topper of Group C, and managed a 1–0 win courtesy of a Tolgay Ozbey strike to enter the final for the 40th time.[6]
Prayag United entered the 2012 IFA Shield as one of the I-League playing teams from Kolkata and were allocated into Group D alongside Mumbai F.C. and Techno Aryan. In their opening game, they defeated Mumbai FC 3–2 with Yusif Yakubu scoring a brace and Denson Devadas scoring the other for Prayag. Gbeneme Friday and Chhangte Malsawmkima scored for Mumbai.[7] In their second game, Prayag defeated Aryan 1–0 with a long range effort from Bello Razaq to reach the semis.[8] In the Semi-Final, Prayag United faced Brazilian team Botafogo BFR and won 1–0 courtesy of a goal from Kiwi striker Kayne Vincent in the 115th minute to take Prayag United into the final.[9]
