Kolkata, November 27: The 79th National Football Championship (Santhosh Trophy) is set to begin with the Group Stage from 15–26 December 2025, hosted across nine different venues in India.
Each group winner will advance to the Final Round, scheduled to be held in January 2026. Each group consists of four teams, and only the nine group winners will qualify for the Final Round.
Alongside the nine group winners, three teams have already secured direct entry into the Final Round, hosts Assam, defending champions West Bengal, and runners-up Kerala.
Group Stage Line-up of Santosh Trophy
Group A – Mahilpur, Punjab
- Jammu & Kashmir
- Ladakh
- Punjab
- Himachal Pradesh
Group B – Meerut, Uttar Pradesh
- Chandigarh
- Haryana
- Uttar Pradesh
- Uttarakhand
Group C – Delhi
- Bihar
- Jharkhand
- Railways
- Delhi
Group D – Agartala, Tripura
- Mizoram
- Nagaland
- Manipur
- Tripura
Group E – Shillong, Meghalaya
- Meghalaya
- Sikkim
- Arunachal Pradesh
Group F – Naranpur, Chhattisgarh
- Odisha
- Madhya Pradesh
- Chhattisgarh
- Telangana
Group G – Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh
- Andaman & Nicobar
- Andhra Pradesh
- Tamil Nadu
- Pondicherry
Group H – Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Goa
- Karnataka
- Lakshadweep
- Services
Group I – Jaipur, Rajasthan
- Maharashtra
- Gujarat
- Rajasthan
- DNH & DD (Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman & Diu)
West Bengal enters the 2025–26 National Football Championship (Santosh Trophy) as the defending champions, having lifted the 2024–25 title with authority and consistency. Their direct qualification reflects their dominance, depth, and historic footballing culture.
This season, Bengal will once again be guided by Sanjay Sen, the same head coach who led them to glory in the previous edition. His experience, tactical clarity, and ability to bring the best out of Bengal’s young core make the team one of the strongest contenders for the upcoming Final Round.
Adding to the narrative, the Final Round returns to Assam, a venue with a special memory for Bengal. The last time Assam hosted the Santosh Trophy Final Round was in the 2010–11 season, when West Bengal defeated Manipur in Guwahati to lift the title.
Now, 15 years later, Bengal returns to Assam as the most successful team in Santosh Trophy history, with a record 33 titles, aiming to extend their dominance and chase yet another historic triumph.
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