Assam all set to host Santosh Trophy for seventh time

New Delhi, Jan 20 (PTI) The 79th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy is all set for kick off from Wednesday with Assam hosting it for the seventh time in its chequered history.

The land of the Brahmaputra and the white rhinos is leading the path in spreading the game to even the remotest areas. It hosted it in Nowgong for the first time in 1959-60 and then again in 1969-70.

In between, four editions were organised efficiently in Guwahati. Now again, the football fraternity will have the opportunity of witnessing some of the finest aspirants of the country in remote Dhakuakhana near Lakhimpur and Dhemaji, on the northern banks of the great Brahmaputra, and Silapathar.

The rock bed of Indian football witnessed all the state teams being divided into nine groups for the qualifying rounds, with the group winners qualifying to play in the final rounds.

Assam, as hosts and last season's finalists, West Bengal and Kerala, were seeded directly into the final round groups as they were exempted from playing the initial group stage fixtures.

The 12 teams have been divided into two groups of six teams each.

Group A consists of holders West Bengal, hosts Assam, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu, while Group B has Railways, Services, last season's runners-up Kerala, Punjab, Meghalaya and Odisha.

The top four teams will advance to the knock-out quarter-final rounds to be held on February 2 and 3. The two semi-finals are billed for February 5, with the grand final set for February 8. PTI AH AH BS BS