Nagaland has been drawn in Group A alongside hosts Assam, defending champions West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan for the final round of the 79th Senior Men’s National Football Championship (Santosh Trophy) 2025-26.
The draw was conducted on December 31 at the All India Football Federation (AIFF) headquarters in New Delhi. Assam will host the final round from January 21, with 12 teams divided into two groups of six each.
Group B features Meghalaya, Kerala, Services, Punjab, Odisha and Railways. Kerala, last year’s runners-up, have won the title multiple times, most recently in 2021-22. Services were champions in 2023-24 and had knocked Meghalaya out in the quarterfinals of the 2024-25 edition. Punjab last lifted the trophy in 2007-08 but have finished runners-up thrice since then, while Railways’ last triumph dates back 60 years, though they were runners-up in 2013-14.
Meghalaya, yet to win the championship, came close in 2022-23 when they lost 3-2 to Karnataka in the final. The team, led by coach Khlain Pyrkhat Syiemlieh, qualified for the final round after topping their preliminary group last month that included Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
Assam received direct entry as hosts, while West Bengal and Kerala qualified automatically as winners and runners-up of the 2024-25 edition.
The top four teams from each group will advance to the knockout stages. Quarterfinals are scheduled for February 2-3, semifinals on February 5 and the final on February 8.
Nagaland placed in tough Group A for Santosh Trophy
CorrespondentShillong, Jan 3 (NPN)