2025–26 Santosh Trophy

2025–26 Santosh Trophy
Senior Men's
National Football Championship
Tournament details
CountryIndia
Venues9 (in 9 host cities)
Dates15 December – TBD
Teams38
Tournament statistics
Matches played45
Goals scored140 (3.11 per match)

All statistics correct as of 24 December 2025.

The 2025–26 Santosh Trophy will be the 79th edition of the Santosh Trophy, the premier competition in India for senior men's football teams representing their respective states/union territories and government institutions.[1]

Venues

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced in November 2025 that the group stage matches would begin the following month and would be played in nine venues. The venues and the corresponding groups that would play there were named. Hosts Assam and last year's finalists, West Bengal and Kerala were exempted from playing the group stage fixtures. Assam is hosting the event after 15 years.[1]

Group City Stadium Capacity
A Mahilpur Mahilpur Stadium 10,000
B Greater Noida Sharda University Stadium –
C Ranchi Birsa Munda Football Stadium 40,000
D Agartala Umakanta Mini Stadium 5,000
E Shillong SSA Football Stadium 15,100
F Narayanpur RKM Sports Complex 1,000
G Anantapur RDT Stadium 5,000
H Bengaluru Bangalore Football Stadium –
I Jaipur Vidyadhar Nagar Stadium –
Final round Dhakuakhana &
Dhemaji
Knockouts

Draws

38 teams entered the competition; West Bengal and Kerala, the finalists of the previous edition and Assam, the hosts received direct entry to the final round. The remaining 35 teams were divided into 1 group of 3 teams and 8 groups of 4 teams each. It was announced that the winners of each group would make the final round.[1][2]

Group stage

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification PB JK LD HP
1 Punjab (H) 3 3 0 0 10 0 +10 9 Final round 1–0
2 Jammu and Kashmir 3 2 0 1 6 1 +5 6 3–0
3 Ladakh 3 1 0 2 1 6 −5 3 0–3 1–0
4 Himachal Pradesh 3 0 0 3 0 10 −10 0 0–6 0–3
Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification UT CH UP HR
1 Uttarakhand 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 6 Final round 1–0 20 Dec
2 Chandigarh 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3 1–0 20 Dec
3 Uttar Pradesh (H) 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1 1–1
4 Haryana 2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 1 0–2
Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RL DL JH BR
1 Railways 3 2 1 0 13 0 +13 7 Final round 6–0
2 Delhi (H) 3 2 1 0 10 1 +9 7 0–0 2–0
3 Jharkhand 3 1 0 2 2 14 −12 3 1–8
4 Bihar 3 0 0 3 0 10 −10 0 0–7 0–1
Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group D

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification NL MN MZ TR
1 Nagaland 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7 Final round 3–0 1–1
2 Manipur 3 2 0 1 8 5 +3 6 3–1 5–1
3 Mizoram 3 1 0 2 2 4 −2 3 0–1
4 Tripura (H) 3 0 1 2 2 7 −5 1 0–1
Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group E

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ML SK AR
1 Meghalaya (H) 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3 Final round 1–2
2 Sikkim 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3 0–1
3 Arunachal Pradesh 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3 1–2
Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group F

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification OD TG CT MP
1 Odisha 2 2 0 0 5 0 +5 6 Final round 4–0
2 Telangana 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 3 0–1
3 Chhattisgarh 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0 26 Dec 1–2
4 Madhya Pradesh 1 0 0 1 0 4 −4 0 26 Dec 24 Dec
Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots

Group G

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TN PY AP AN
1 Tamil Nadu 3 3 0 0 14 0 +14 9 Final round 5–0
2 Pondicherry 3 2 0 1 5 5 0 6 0–3 2–1
3 Andhra Pradesh (H) 3 1 0 2 2 8 −6 3 1–3
4 Andaman & Nicobar 3 0 0 3 1 9 −8 0 0–6 0–1
Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group H

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification SE KA LK GA
1 Services 3 3 0 0 8 2 +6 9 Final round 2–1
2 Karnataka 2 1 0 1 4 2 +2 3 3–0
3 Lakshadweep 3 0 1 2 2 6 −4 1 1–2 1–1
4 Goa (H) 2 0 1 1 1 5 −4 1 0–4 24 Dec
Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group I

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification RJ GJ MH DD
1 Rajasthan (H) 3 2 1 0 10 1 +9 7 Final round 1–1
2 Gujarat 3 2 1 0 9 1 +8 7 3–0
3 Maharashtra 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 3 0–3 4–0
4 DNHDD 3 0 0 3 0 15 −15 0 6–0 0–5
Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Final round

Qualified teams

Direct entrants (3)
Hosts Assam
Defending champions West Bengal
Previous runners-up Kerala
Group Group winners (9)
A Punjab
B Uttarakhand
C Railways
D Nagaland
E Meghalaya
F
G Tamil Nadu
H Services
I Rajasthan

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TBD1 TBD2 TBD3 TBD4 TBD5 TBD6
1 TBD (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advanced to knockout stage — — — — — —
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — —
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — —
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
6 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 —
Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification TBD1 TBD2 TBD3 TBD4 TBD5 TBD6
1 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advanced to knockout stage — — — — — —
2 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
3 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — —
4 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — —
5 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
6 TBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 —
Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots

Knockout stage

All times are local, IST (UTC+05:30).

Bracket

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
January – TBA
 
 
TBD
 
January – TBA
 
TBD
 
TBD
 
January – TBA
 
TBD
 
TBD
 
January – TBA
 
TBD
 
TBD
 
January – TBA
 
TBD
 
TBD
 
January – TBA
 
TBD
 
TBD
 
January – TBA
 
TBD
 
TBD
 
 
TBD
 

Quarter-finals

January 2026 v TBD, Assam
--:-- IST
January 2026 v TBD, Assam
--:-- IST
January 2026 v TBD, Assam
--:-- IST
January 2026 v TBD, Assam
--:-- IST

Semi-finals

January 2026 v TBD, Assam
--:-- IST
January 2026 v TBD, Assam
--:-- IST

Final

January 2026 v TBD, Assam
--:-- IST

Statistics

Rank Player Team Goal(s)
1
2
3
4
5
Source: AIFF

Awards

The following awards were given out at the end of the tournament: the top scorer, Best Goalkeeper, Player of the Tournament and Fair Play Award.

Award Player Team
Top Scorer
Best Goalkeeper
Player of the Tournament
Fair Play Award

Broadcasting

Territory Broadcaster(s) Ref.
India YouTube [1]
FIFA+ [3]
Global

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Assam to host Santosh Trophy 2025-26 Final Round in January". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  2. ^ "79th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy: Fixtures". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
  3. ^ "Santosh Trophy to be streamed live globally on FIFA+ for free". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
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