Santosh Trophy 2025-26 Final Round draw held; Assam to host matches

The draw for the 79th Santosh Trophy 2025-26 Final Round was held in New Delhi. The tournament, hosted in Assam, will kick off on January 21, 2026. Hosts Assam are in Group A with West Bengal, while Kerala leads Group B.

The draw for the 79th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy 2025-26 Final Round, which will be hosted in Dhakuakhana and Silapathar, Assam, was conducted at the Football House, in New Delhi on Wednesday, as per the official website of All India Football Federation (AIFF). The Final Round will kick off on January 21, 2026, with 12 teams being divided into two groups of six each.

Group Stage Draw

Hosts Assam, along with West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Nagaland, and Rajasthan, have been drawn in Group A, while Kerala, Services, Punjab, Odisha, Railways, and Meghalaya have been drawn in Group B.

Qualification and Knockout Stage Format

Assam got direct entry into the Final Rounds as the hosts, while West Bengal and Kerala qualified automatically as the winners and runners-up of the 2024-25 edition, respectively. The other nine teams have each qualified as the top teams in their respective groups in the Group Stage that was held earlier this month. The top four teams from each group will progress to the knockout stages. The quarter-finals will be played on February 2 and 3, the semi-finals on February 5, and the final on February 8.

79th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy 2025-26 Final Round Draw: Group A: Assam (hosts), West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Nagaland, Rajasthan. Group B: Kerala, Services, Punjab, Odisha, Railways, Meghalaya. (ANI)

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