The 79th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2025-26 will feature its Final Round in Assam in January 2026. The group stages are scheduled across nine venues from December 15 to 26, 2025.
A total of 35 teams will compete in the group stage, which is divided into nine groups—eight groups of four teams each and one group of three teams. The winners of these groups will advance to the 12-team Final Round, joining host Assam, last season’s champions West Bengal, and runners-up Kerala. The Final Round matches will be held in Dhakuakhana and Dhemaji.
Assam last hosted the Santosh Trophy Final Round in the 2010-11 season, when West Bengal defeated Manipur in Guwahati to claim the trophy.
The Senior National Football Championship (NFC) for the Santosh Trophy is India’s premier men’s national football competition. Established in 1941, it was named after Sir Manmatha Nath Roy Chowdhary of Santosh, then president of the Indian Football Association. West Bengal holds the record with 32 titles.
All Member Associations affiliated with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) are eligible to participate through qualifying rounds held nationwide. After the group stage, the 12 qualified teams are split into two groups of six. The top four teams from each group move on to the quarter-finals, followed by semi-finals and the final.
West Bengal are the defending champions, having defeated Kerala 1-0 in the 2024 final held in Hyderabad, Telangana.
79th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2025-26 Group Stage Fixtures
Group A (hosted in Mahilpur, Punjab): Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Punjab
December 15: Jammu & Kashmir vs Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh vs Punjab
December 17: Himachal Pradesh vs Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh vs Punjab
December 19: Ladakh vs Himachal Pradesh, Punjab vs Jammu & Kashmir
Group B (hosted in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh): Chandigarh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand
December 16: Uttarakhand vs Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh vs Haryana
December 18: Haryana vs Uttarakhand, Chandigarh vs Uttar Pradesh
December 20: Chandigarh vs Haryana, Uttarakhand vs Uttar Pradesh
Group C (hosted in Delhi): Bihar, Jharkhand, Railways, Delhi
December 15: Bihar vs Railways, Jharkhand vs Delhi
December 17: Railways vs Jharkhand, Delhi vs Bihar
December 19: Bihar vs Jharkhand, Delhi vs Railways
Group D (hosted in Agartala, Tripura): Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura
December 15: Mizoram vs Nagaland, Manipur vs Tripura
December 17: Nagaland vs Manipur, Tripura vs Mizoram
December 19: Manipur vs Mizoram, Nagaland vs Tripura
Group E (Shillong, Meghalaya): Meghalaya, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh
December 19: Meghalaya vs Sikkim
December 21: Sikkim vs Arunachal Pradesh
December 23: Arunachal Pradesh vs Meghalaya
Group F (hosted in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh): Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana
December 22: Odisha vs Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh vs Telangana
December 24: Telangana vs Odisha, Madhya Pradesh vs Chhattisgarh
December 26: Madhya Pradesh vs Telangana, Chhattisgarh vs Odisha
Group G (hosted in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh):
Andaman & Nicobar, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry
December 17: Andaman & Nicobar vs Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh vs Pondicherry
December 19: Tamil Nadu vs Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry vs Andaman & Nicobar
December 21: Andaman & Nicobar vs Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry vs Tamil Nadu
Group H (hosted in Bengaluru, Karnataka): Goa, Karnataka, Lakshadweep, Services
December 20: Goa vs Services, Karnataka vs Lakshadweep
December 22: Lakshadweep vs Goa, Services vs Karnataka
December 24: Lakshadweep vs Services, Goa vs Karnataka
Group I (hosted in Jaipur, Rajasthan): Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
December 17: Gujarat vs Maharashtra, DNH & DD vs Rajasthan
December 19: Maharashtra vs DNH & DD, Rajasthan vs Gujarat
December 21: DNH & DD vs Gujarat, Maharashtra vs Rajasthan
(Source: AIFF)
