The final round of the 77th National Football Championship or Santosh Trophy 2023-24 will be held in Arunachal Pradesh for the first time. The dates for the games have tentatively been fixed from February 21 to March 9, 2024. A total of 12 teams will participate at this stage including six group winners and three best second-placed teams coming from the first round with three more teams who have earned direct entry to the round.
Goa, Delhi, Manipur, Assam, Services and Maharashtra have topped their group in the first round while Kerala, Mizoram and Railways are the three best-place runners-up. Hosts Arunachal Pradesh, last season's champions Karnataka and finalists Meghalaya comprise those teams earning automatic qualification. The sides are divided into two groups with six teams each.
The hosts Arunachal Pradesh are placed in Group A with former winners Goa, Services and Kerala also in the mix. Last edition’s runners-up Meghalaya and Assam comprised the rest. Group B will contain holders Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Manipur, Mizoram and Railways. The new format for the tournament will see an expanded knockout stage, with the top four teams from each group progressing to the quarter-finals.
Group A
Arunachal Pradesh
Meghalaya
Goa
Assam
Services
Kerala
Group B
Karnataka
Maharashtra
Delhi
Manipur
Mizoram
Railways
