Senior men’s and women’s national football championships will be played in new format and with new venue for knock-out stage. All 36 states will fight it out in the six groups for a chance to make it to the last round.
The knock-outs which include semi-finals and finals for the 76th Santosh Trophy will be held in Saudi Arabia. The six group toppers, along with the three best second-placed teams, will qualify for the final round of the senior men’s national championship.
The six group toppers and the four best second-placed teams will make it to the final round of the senior women’s national championship. Railways and Services will get direct entry into the senior men’s national championship. Railways will get direct entry to the Hero Senior Women’s National Football Championship Final Round.
In the Final Round, the 12 best teams from across the country will be divided into two groups of six teams each, as they will subsequently play in a round robin format, before proceeding to the knockout rounds.
The 36 State FAs were also invited to bid for the hosting rights of the Group Stages and the Final Rounds. As announced earlier, semi-finals and final of the 76th Hero Senior Men’s NFC for Santosh Trophy will be held in Saudi Arabia.
Groupings for the 76th Hero Senior Men’s NFC for Santosh Trophy
Group I: Karnataka, Delhi, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Tripura, Leh & Ladakh.
Group II: Kerala, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir.
Group III: Goa, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland.
Group IV: West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Dadra, Haryana.
Group V: Meghalaya, Odisha, Sikkim, Telangana, Pondicherry, Andaman & Nicobar.
Group VI: Punjab, Manipur, Jharkhand, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep.
Groupings for the Hero Senior Women’s NFC
Group I: Haryana, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana, Meghalaya, Nagaland.
Group II: Mizoram, Maharashtra, Kerala, Pondicherry, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh.
Group III: Odisha, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tripura.
Group IV: Jharkhand, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Leh & Ladakh.
Group V: Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Daman & Dadra, Uttar Pradesh, Lakshadweep.
Group VI: Manipur, Assam, Karnataka, Gujarat, Bihar, Andaman & Nicobar.
Picture Courtesy: AIFF Media
