Final Round of the 78th Santosh Trophy Kicks Off on December 14 in Hyderabad

New Delhi, Dec 2 (NationPress) The decisive phase of the 78th Senior National football Championship for the Santosh Trophy is scheduled to start on December 14 in Hyderabad.

A total of twelve teams have qualified, including nine group stage winners, the two finalists from the previous season (Services and Goa), along with the host state Telangana. These teams are divided into two groups of six. The top four teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals, which will take place on December 26 and 27. All matches leading up to the quarter-finals will be hosted at the Deccan Arena.

The semi-finals are scheduled for December 29, followed by the final on December 31, both set to occur at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium.

West Bengal holds the record with 32 titles and seeks their first championship since 2016-17. The defending champions, Services, have claimed seven titles, six of which were won in the last eleven seasons. Punjab, with eight championships to their name, has failed to qualify for the final round for the second consecutive year after being eliminated by Jammu & Kashmir, who are making their first final round appearance since 2015-16.

The groups for the 78th NFC for the Santosh Trophy Final Round are as follows:

Group A:

Services (2023-24 Champions)

West Bengal (Group C winners)

Manipur (Group D winners)

Telangana (Hosts)

Jammu & Kashmir (Group A winners)

Rajasthan (Group I winners)

Group B:

Goa (2023-24 Runners-up)

Delhi (Group B winners)

Kerala (Group H winners)

Tamil Nadu (Group G winners)

Odisha (Group F winners)

Meghalaya (Group E winners)

Fixtures:

Group A (all matches at Deccan Arena):

December 14 - Manipur vs Services, Telangana vs Rajasthan, West Bengal vs Jammu & Kashmir

December 16 - Services vs Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal vs Telangana, Manipur vs Rajasthan

December 18 - Jammu & Kashmir vs Manipur, Rajasthan vs West Bengal, Services vs Telangana

December 21 - Telangana vs Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan vs Services, West Bengal vs Manipur

December 23 - Jammu & Kashmir vs Rajasthan, Manipur vs Telangana, Services vs West Bengal

Group B (all matches at Deccan Arena):

December 15 - Kerala vs Goa, Tamil Nadu vs Meghalaya, Delhi vs Odisha

December 17 - Goa vs Odisha, Delhi vs Tamil Nadu, Kerala vs Meghalaya

December 19 - Odisha vs Kerala, Meghalaya vs Delhi, Goa vs Tamil Nadu

December 22 - Tamil Nadu vs Odisha, Meghalaya vs Goa, Delhi vs Kerala

December 24 - Odisha vs Meghalaya, Kerala vs Tamil Nadu, Goa vs Delhi

Quarter-finals (all matches at Deccan Arena):

December 26 - Group A1 vs Group B4 (QF1); Group A2 vs Group B3 (QF2)

December 27 - Group B1 vs Group A4 (QF3); Group B2 vs Group A3 (QF4)

Semi-finals (all matches at GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium):

December 29 - QF1 winner vs QF4 winner (SF1); QF3 winner vs QF2 winner (SF2)

Final:

December 31 - Semi-final 1 winner vs Semi-final 2 winner