Santosh Trophy final phase to kick-off in Kolkata

Defending champions West Bengal will take on Manipur on the opening day as the 72nd edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy is set to kick-off in Kolkata on March 19

Representational Picture

Defending champions West Bengal will take on Manipur on the opening day as the 72nd edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy is set to kick-off in Kolkata on March 19.

Santosh Trophy is the football competition contested by regional state associations and government institutions under the All India Football Federation (AIFF). Ten teams, who qualified from the preliminary stages, have been divided into two groups of five teams each. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals, which are to be played on March 30, 2018. The final is slated for April 1.

AIFF general secretary Kushal Das wished luck to all the participating teams. 'We are delighted to have the Santosh Trophy being hosted in Kolkata. I wish success to the 10 finalists and look forward to a successful hosting of the prestigious event by the Indian Football Association,' he said.

The groupings are as follows:

Group A: West Bengal, Chandigarh, Manipur, Kerala, Maharashtra.

Group B: Goa, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Karnataka.

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