New Delhi: The All India Football Federation on Tuesday confirmed Kolhapur, Maharashtra, as the venue for the Group IV matches for the upcoming 76th Men’s National Football Championship for the Hero Santosh Trophy. The matches will be played from January 7 to 15, 2023.
Earlier, four venues were finalised. While Group I will be played in Delhi (December 23, 2022 – December 31, 2022), the Group II, III and V will be played in Kozhikode, Kerala (December 26, 2022 – January 8, 2023), Kokrajhar, Assam (December 28, 2022 – January 5, 2023) and Bhubaneswar, Odisha (December 24, 2022 – January 1, 2023), respectively.
The dates and venues of Group VI will be released soon.
The Senior National Football Championships will be played in a new format that will see the 36 states fight it out across six groups for a chance to make it to the Final Round. The six group toppers, along with three best second-placed teams will qualify for the Final Rounds. Railways and Services will get direct entry along with the hosts.
Group IV: West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Daman & Dadra, Haryana
Fixtures:
January 7: Daman and Dadra vs Chhattisgarh, Kolhapur
Haryana vs Bengal, Kolhapur
Madhya Pradesh vs Maharashtra, Kolhapur
January 9: Daman and Dadra vs Bengal, Kolhapur
Chhattisgarh vs Maharashtra, Kolhapur
Haryana vs Madhya Pradesh, Kolhapur
January 11: Daman and Dadra vs Maharashtra, Kolhapur
Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh, Kolhapur
Chhattisgarh vs Haryana, Kolhapur
January 13: Daman and Dadra vs Madhya Pradesh, Kolhapur
Maharashtra vs Haryana, Kolhapur
Bengal vs Chhattisgarh, Kolhapur
January 15: Daman and Dadra vs Haryana, Kolhapur
Madhya Pradesh vs Chhattisgarh, Kolhapur
Maharashtra vs Bengal, Kolhapur
(IANS)