Former winners Goa, Services, Kerala in same group for final round of Santosh Trophy

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New Delhi . Former champions Goa, Services and Kerala were placed in the same group in the draw for the final round of the 77th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2023-24, which was held at the Football House here on Thursday.

The three have been placed in Group A along with last year’s finalists Meghalaya, hosts Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, while Group B includes defending champions Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Manipur, Mizoram and Railways, which will temporarily resume from February 21. Have been fixed till March 9, 2024.

The 12 teams that qualified for the final round have been divided into two groups of six each. The participants included the six group stage winners (Goa, Delhi, Manipur, Assam, Services and Maharashtra), the three best second-placed teams (Kerala, Mizoram and Railways), and three automatic qualifiers – hosts Arunachal Pradesh, last season’s champions Karnataka. and finalist Meghalaya.

For the first time since its inception in 1941, the Santosh Trophy will be held in Arunachal Pradesh. The new format of the tournament will see an expanded knockout stage, with the top four teams from each group advancing to the quarter-finals.

AIFF Acting General Secretary Satyanarayana M. said, “This is going to be a very special edition of the Santosh Trophy as we are taking the tournament to Arunachal Pradesh for the first time. I would like to thank our President Kalyan Choubey, Treasurer Kipa Ajay and Honorable Chief Minister Thank you Pema Khandu. Thank you also to Arunachal Pradesh for hosting the Santosh Trophy final round.”

77th National Football Championship Final Round Draw Result for Santosh Trophy 2023-24:

Group A: Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Goa, Assam, Services, Kerala

Group B: Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Manipur, Mizoram, Railways

–IANS

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