The Final Round of the 2025-26 Senior Men’s National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy will kick off on 21st January 2026, with nine First Round group winners, along with directly qualified teams, last season’s runners-up Kerala, defending champions West Bengal and hosts Assam participating at this stage. It is the first time in 15 years that the Final Round of the Santosh Trophy is being hosted in the Northeastern state. The teams will be divided into two groups of six, with the top four teams from each group advancing to the quarterfinal stage next month. The final of the 79th edition of the Santosh Trophy will take place on 8th February 202,6 with former winners looking to add to their tally, while others will be dreaming of lifting the shining silverware for the first time.
This time, the competition is being played with a new rule that only players born within the territory of their state are allowed to represent their state team, with teams barred from fielding out-of-state players. The exception to the rule only applied to institutional sides like Railways and Services. Each team is allowed to name a 22-player squad for the entire tournament, including a minimum of two goalkeepers. No longer could teams include additional players or replace anyone from the existing list for the Final Round. Up to two players can be registered under the OCI or PIO category. Group A consists of host Assam, holders West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Nagaland and Rajasthan, while last season’s runners-up Kerala, Services, Punjab, Odisha, Railways and Meghalaya are included in Group B.
Here is the full squad list of all teams in the first round of the 2025-26 Santosh Trophy:
Group A
Assam (Final Round Hosts)
Goalkeepers: Satyajit Bordoloi, Navajyoti Ayan
Defenders: Dipu Gohain, Sudem Wary, Didwm Hazowary, Ambar Chetri, Nabin Rabha, Danswrang Basumatary, Rustom Brahma
Midfielders: Timothi Narzary, Rituraj Mohan, Jangminlun Kuki, Pragyan Sundar Gogoi, Rishiraj Boruah
Forwards: Subham Chetry, Sudeepta Konwar, Akrang Narzary, Dipu Mirdha, Gwgwmsar Goyary, Anupom Borgohain, Pranjal Bhumij, Mayukh Gogoi
Head Coach: Luchan Saikia
West Bengal (Holders)
Goalkeepers: Somnath Dutta, Gourav Shaw
Defenders: Sujit Sadhu, Madan Mandi, Juwel Mazumder, Chaku Mandi, Marshal Kisku, Suman Dey, Bikram Pradhan
Midfielders: Bickey Thapa, Tanmay Das, Prasanta Das, Shyamal Besra, Sayan Banerjee, Bijoy Murmu, Aqib Nawab, Akash Hembram
Forwards: Sumay Shome, Uttam Hansda, Karan Rai, Robi Hansda, Naro Hari Shrestha
Head Coach: Sanjoy Sen
Tamil Nadu (First Round Group G winners)
Goalkeepers: Mohanraj K, Murugan
Defenders: R Karthikiyen, Henry Immanuel, Karthick Thirumalai, Henry Stalin, Boobalan, Harikrishnan M, Suraj Kumar P
Midfielders: Pandiyan Sinivasan, Ganesan, Mayakkannan, Jockson Dhas, S Prakadeswaran, Dinesh G, Mohamed Musharaf
Forwards: Nandha Kumar, Devadath S, Romario Jesuraj, Vineeth Velmurugan
Head Coach: Dharmaraj Ravanan
Uttarakhand (First Round Group B winners)
Goalkeepers: Aayush Deshwal, Harshit Bisht, Saurav Negi
Defenders: Ajay Bisht, Neeraj Bhandari, Shashank Rana, Akshay Thapa, Rahul Singh Bora, Abhishek Rawat, Hitik Walia
Midfielders: Ajendra Singh, Gaurav Rawat, Navin Rawat, Rajender Singh, Shashwat Panwar, Bharat Mehra
Forwards: Pravesh Bisht, Nirmal Singh, Anurag Singh, Bhupender Singh
Head Coach: Jatin Singh
Nagaland (First Round Group D winners)
Goalkeepers: Ato T Awomi, Mengulhoukho Chalie, Chuba Nuchet Longkumer
Defenders: Thejangulie Zatsu, Moalong Jamir, Bokato Awomi, Namang Yimjong, Menoneikho Nakhro, Zarenthung Justin Ngullie, Benrithung
Midfielders: Ato Chophi, Ghuqhe Chishi, Bapenyimjong, Toka Achumi, Hivika Zhimo
Forwards: S Ayenmongba, Yhoto Lohe, Thulunso Yimchunger, Laiwang Bohham, Manton K Wangshu
Head Coach: Lavoriyi Theluo
Rajasthan (First Round Group I winners)
Goalkeepers: Mohit Sikhwal, Dushyant Singh
Defenders: Aman Tyagi, Aditya Chahar, Altaf Hussain, Himmat Singh, Vishal Kaloshiya, Dushyant Chaudhary
Midfielders: Bappi Barman, Yash Vardhan Rajpurohit, Suveen Swami, Mohd Riyaz, Santosh Bishnoi, Angad Singh, Tanush Sharma, Chetan Choudhary
Forwards: Mukesh Kumar, Amit Kumar, Milan Poonia, Neeraj Nirwan
Head Coach: Lovekesh Sheria
Group B
Kerala (Last edition’s Runners-up)
Goalkeepers: Alkesh Raj, Hajmal S, Muhammed Jaseen
Defenders: Ajay Alex, Sanju G, Manoj M, Ajayan, Abdul Badish, Sandeep S, Tejas Krishna
Midfielders: Arjun MM, Asif OM, Viknesh M, Arjun V, Aboobacker Dilshad
Forwards: Shijin T, Muhammad Ajsal, Muhammed Riyas, Muhammed Ashrar, Muhammed Sinan, Muhammed Ashique, Sajeesh
Head Coach: Shafeeq Hassan
Services (First Round Group H winners)
Goalkeepers: Gagandeep Singh, Muhammed Shanoos PP
Defenders: Navjot Singh, Brijesh Singh, Maibam Singh, Samananda Singh, Boinao Singh, Harman Singh Sidhu, Commandant Singh, Jijo Jerone
Midfielders: Lalhmingchhuanga, Vijay J, Shubham Rana, Wangden Tamang, Vijay Marandi, Sadananda Singh, Akhish Cyril, Roshan Panna
Forwards: Zahir Khan, Abhishekh Powar
Head Coach: Govindaraju Ramachandran
Punjab (First Round Group A winners)
Goalkeepers: Satbir Singh Dhaliwal, Karandeep Singh, Amit
Defenders: Sangamdeep Singh, Ekmeet Singh, Akashmaan Chaudhary, Harpreet Singh, Harjit
Midfielders: Abhishek Rattu, Arshvir Singh, Damanpreet Singh, Sandeep Singh, Harmandeep Singh, Kamaldeep
Forwards: Palwinder Singh, Himanshu Jangra, Jatinder Singh Rana, Akashdeep Singh, Gurdeep Singh, Gaurav
Head Coach: Jaswant Singh Parmar
Odisha (First Round Group F winners)
Goalkeepers: Soumya Das, Sidhant Pradhan
Defenders: Rakesh Oram, Ashok Bag, Bishal Tigga, Abhinash Muduli, Pintu Samal, Hari Nayak, Manesh Hansda, Ranjan Soren
Midfielders: Arpan Lakra, Mohan Murmu, Gaurav Negi, Ganesh Sethi, Suresh Khadia, Arbin Lakra
Forwards: Jitu Muduli, Kartik Hantal, Srikant Gadaba, Raisen Tudu
Head Coach: Akshya Das
Railways (First Round Group C winners)
Goalkeepers: Jaskaranbir Singh, Christurajan T
Defenders: Sukhandeep Singh, Urjoy Brahma, Faseen PK, Saurabh Bhanwala, Prabin Tigga, Abhinash Singh, Akashdeep Singh
Midfielders: Prabik Ghising, Sufiyan Shaikh, Pacha Singh, Imarson Meitei, Adwin Tirkey, Joel Beckham Simon
Forwards: Raheem K, Johnson Mathews, Kamalesh P, Naresh B, Muhammed Safnad
Head Coach: Paritosh Kumar Sharma
Meghalaya (First Round Group E winners)
Goalkeepers: Wanteilang Malngiang, Banshanskhem Kharsyntiew, Nister Roy
Defenders: Wanboklang Lyngdoh, Apborlang Kurbah, Wilbert Marbaniang, Lohborlang Lyngkhoi, Allen Nongbri, Arlangky Nongsieg, Mebankhraw Wahlang
Midfielders: Hamedamanbha Wahlang, Riborlang Lyngkhoi, Babysunday Marngar, Dibromi Changlang, Mebanshngain Kurkalang, Fairming Suting, Robertson Khongriah, Hardy Nongbri, Kynsaibor Lhuid
Forwards: Shano Tariang, Deibormame Tongper, Dawanchwa Challam
Head Coach: Khlain Syiemlieh
