Santosh Trophy fixtures announced

MARCH 14: The All India Football Federation announced the fixtures of the 56th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy to be...

MARCH 14: The All India Football Federation announced the fixtures of the 56th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy to be held in Kerala from March 19 to April 23.

Twenty eight teams will play in eight clusters in the preliminary round. There will be four clusters of four teams each and four clusters of three teams apiece. The clusters are divided into four groups, each group having 7 teams.

Six clusters of 21 teams are scheduled to be played at Chalakudy from March 19 to April 8, while clusters 5 & 6 consisting of seven teams are allotted for Ernakulam district from April 1 to 8. However, the Kerala Football Association, which released the fixtures at Thrissur on Tuesday, declined to specify the venue. Ernakulam and Muvattupuzha are in the fray after Tiruvalla had backed out.

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There will be four groups and a knockout pre-quarterfinal will send the group winners to the quarterfinal league. Defending champions Bengal, runners-up Goa, and semifinalists Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been seeded straight to the quarterfinal league.

The quarterfinal league will be held from April 9 to 17, while the semifinals will be held on April 19 & 20 after a rest day on April 18. Loser’s final will be played on April 22.

The final is slated for April 23.

Cluster 1: Services, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Sikkim
Cluster 2: Manipur, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh
Cluster 3: Railways, Mizoram, Andhra Pradesh, Daman & Diu
Cluster 4: Punjab, Pondicherry, Tripura
Cluster 5: Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar
Cluster 6: Karnataka, Nagaland, Jammu & Kashmir
Cluster 7: Delhi, Chandigarh, Arunachal Pradesh, Orissa
Cluster 8: Maharashtra, Haryana, Meghalaya
Schedule at Chalakudy (Clusters 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 & 8)

March 19: Rajasthan vs Sikkim; Services vs Gujarat. March 20: Mizoram vs Daman & Diu; Andhra Pradesh vs Railways. March 21: Rajasthan vs Gujarat; Services vs Sikkim. March 22: Railways vs Daman & Diu; Mizoram vs Andhra Pradesh. March 23: Gujarat vs Sikkim; Services vs Rajasthan. March 24: Andhra Pradesh vs Daman & Diu; Railways vs Mizoram. March 25: Chandigarh vs Arunachal Pradesh. March 26: Bihar vs Himachal Pradesh. March 27: Chandigarh vs Orissa. March 28: Manipur vs Himachal Pradesh. March 29: Orissa vs Arunachal Pradesh. March 30: Manipur vs Bihar. March 31: Delhi vs Orissa.

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April 1: Pre-quarterfinal (Group A): Winners of clusters 1 & 2.
April 2: Pondicherry vs Tripura; Delhi vs Arunachal Pradesh. April 3: Haryana vs Meghalaya; Punjab vs Tripura. April 4: Delhi vs Chandigarh. April 5: Maharashtra vs Meghalaya; Punjab vs Pondicherry. April 6: Maharashtra vs Haryana.

April 7: Pre-quarterfinal (Group B): Winners of clusters 3 & 4. April 8: Pre-quarterfinal (Group D): Winners of clusters 7 & 8.

Schedule at Ernakulam (Clusters 5 & 6)

April 1: Andaman & Nicobar vs MP; Assam vs UP. April 2: Nagaland vs J&K. April 3: UP vs Andaman & Nicobar; Assam vs MP. April 4: Karnataka vs J&K. April 5: UP vs MP; Assam vs Andaman & Nicobar. April 6: Karnataka vs Nagaland. April 7: Rest day.

April 8: Pre-quarterfinal (Group C): Winners of clusters 5 & 6.

Quarterfinal league onwards at Thrissur: Group X: Bengal, Kerala, Winner (A), Winner (C). Group Y: Goa, Tamil Nadu, Winner (B), Winner (D).

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April 9: TN vs Winner (B). April 10: Bengal vs Winner (C). April 11: TN vs Winner (D); Kerala vs Winner (A). April 12: Goa vs Winner (B). April 13: Bengal vs Winner (A). April 14: Winner (B) vs Winner (D); Kerala vs Winner (C). April 15: Goa vs TN. April 16: Winner (A) vs Winner (C); Bengal vs Kerala. April 17: Goa vs Winner (D).

April 18 & 21: Rest days. April 19 & 20: Semifinals. April 22: Losers’ final. April 23: Final

Rest days. April 19 & 20: Semifinals. April 22: Losers final. April 23: Final.

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