The Final Round of the 79th edition of the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2025-26 is set after nine group winners in the First Round join already qualified Assam, the hosts of this stage, last edition’s runners-up Kerala and holders West Bengal. Among the nine sides, four are previous winners of the competition, while others have appeared at this round at least once in their tournament history. The total of 12 teams at this stage were divided into two groups, with each having six teams. The Final Round of the Santosh Trophy will kick off on January 21, 2026, with the top four teams from each group progressing to the quarterfinal stage, to be played on February 2 and 3, the semi-finals on February 5, and the final on February 8, 2026. Dhakuakhana and Silapathar will be the venues for the Final Round.
Group A includes Assam, who will be hosting the Final Round games of the Santosh Trophy for the first time since the 2010-11 season. That edition was also won by the current holders of the trophy, West Bengal, and they will be hoping to repeat the feat to defend the trophy for a record-extending 34th title victory. Joining them will be Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Nagaland and Rajasthan. Meanwhile, the last edition’s runners-up, Kerala, will be aiming for an eighth title in their history after being drawn in Group B of the Final Round alongside three more Santosh Trophy winners in the past. The second-most successful side in the competition, Punjab, seven-time winners, Services, three-time champions, Railways, Odisha and Meghalaya will be their opponents.
Group A
Assam
Hosts Assam have never won the Santosh Trophy in their history or even reached the final of the competition. However, they are willing to change that with the 2025-26 Final Round taking place on their soil.
West Bengal (holders)
An undefeated campaign ending with the victory in the final hosted in Hyderabad on the final day of 2024, West Bengal won their 33rd Santosh Trophy title and the first since 2016-17. They will hope to retain the silverware, having qualified directly for the Final Round this season.
Tamil Nadu (First Round Group G winners)
Two-time runners-up Tamil Nadu qualified for the Final Round as Group G winners, dominating their group by winning all their games and were the best scoring side in the previous round, without conceding a single goal. They are among the contenders for the title based on their delightful form.
Uttarakhand (First Round Group B winners)
Group B winners Uttarakhand also had a clean sweep in the First Round, winning all their games while keeping a clean sheet in each. They finished five points ahead of Haryana in the top spot, showing their dominance.
Nagaland (First Round Group D winners)
Nagaland produced a surprise in Group D of the First Round by claiming the top spot ahead of Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura without losing a single game. Lavoriyi Theluo’s team hopes to continue their miraculous run in the Final Round.
Rajasthan (First Round Group I winners)
Rajasthan also entered the Final Round undefeated, as they collected seven points, the same as second-placed Gujarat, but finished at the top due to a slightly better goal-difference. The side was also among the highest scorers with 10 goals, conceding just once.
Group A Fixtures
21 January 2026
Uttarakhand vs Rajasthan - Dhakuakhana Football Stadium (09:00)
West Bengal vs Nagaland - Dhakuakhana Football Stadium (13:30)
Tamil Nadu vs Assam - Silapathar Stadium (13:30)
23 January 2026
Assam vs Nagaland - Dhakuakhana Football Stadium (09:00)
West Bengal vs Uttarakhand - Dhakuakhana Football Stadium (13:30)
Tamil Nadu vs Rajasthan - Silapathar Football Stadium (13:30)
25 January 2026
Nagaland vs Tamil Nadu - Dhakuakhana Football Stadium (09:00)
Rajasthan vs West Bengal - Dhakuakhana Football Stadium (13:30)
Assam vs Uttarakhand - Silapathar Football Stadium (13:30)
28 January 2026
Uttarakhand vs Nagaland - Dhakuakhana Football Stadium (09:00)
Rajasthan vs Assam - Dhakuakhana Football Stadium (13:30)
West Bengal vs Tamil Nadu - Silapathar Football Stadium (13:30)
30 January 2026
Nagaland vs Rajasthan - TBD (TBD)
Assam vs West Bengal - TBD (TBD)
Tamil Nadu vs Uttarakhand - TBD (TBD)
Group B
Kerala (Last edition’s Runners-up)
Kerala made a blistering run to the final of the Santosh Trophy last time but failed to get their hands on the trophy, losing narrowly to West Bengal. However, optimism will be there for the side to make another hopeful run to the final, which will be their fifth in the last decade and complete the unfinished business this time.
Services (First Round Group H winners)
Seven-time Santosh Trophy winners like Kerala, Services dominated their group, taking full points from three games, scoring eight goals and conceding just twice. Group H winners Services will hope to reclaim the trophy, which they lost to the eventual winners, West Bengal, last season, after losing to them in the semifinals.
Punjab (First Round Group A winners)
Punjab will also be among the title contenders after qualifying for the Final Round in style. The side won all their games in the group without conceding a single goal, but scoring 10 at the same time. Half of those came from the boots of Himangshu Jhangra, who was the top scorer in the previous round.
Odisha (First Round Group F winners)
Claiming the top spot with a three-point advantage by winning all their games, Odisha will compete in the Final Round as Group F winners. They will be hoping to go beyond the quarterfinal stage this time after suffering elimination at this stage in the last edition.
Railways (First Round Group C winners)
Railways will be aiming to win the Santosh Trophy for the first time since the 1966-67 season after qualifying for the Final Round as Group C winners. They were in a neck-and-neck battle with Delhi for the top spot, but claimed the top spot with a superior goal difference, having scored a massive 13 goals and conceded none.
Meghalaya (First Round Group E winners)
Wrapping up Group B in the Final Round is Meghalaya, who were the runners-up in the 2022-23 campaign, which was hosted in Saudi Arabia. They had the closest run in Group E of the First Round with Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, registering the same points and goal difference, but took the top spot courtesy of scoring more goals than the rest.
Group B Fixtures
22 January 2026
Punjab vs Kerala - Silapathar Football Stadium (09:00)
Odisha vs Meghalaya - Silapathar Football Stadium (13:30)
Services vs Railways - Dhakuakhana Football Stadium (13:30)
24 January 2026
Kerala vs Railways - Silapathar Football Stadium (09:00)
Services vs Odisha - Silapathar Football Stadium (13:30)
Punjab vs Meghalaya - Dhakuakhana Football Stadium (13:30)
26 January 2026
Railways vs Punjab - Silapathar Football Stadium (09:00)
Meghalaya vs Services - Silapathar Football Stadium (13:30)
Kerala vs Odisha - Dhakuakhana Football Stadium (13:30)
29 January 2026
Odisha vs Railways - Silapathar Football Stadium (09:00)
Meghalaya vs Kerala - Silapathar Football Stadium (13:30)
Services vs Punjab - Dhakuakhana Football Stadium (13:30)
31 January 2026
Railways vs Meghalaya - TBD (TBD)
Punjab vs Odisha - TBD (TBD)
Kerala vs Services - TBD (TBD)
Knockouts
Quarterfinals
2 February 2026
Group A winners vs Group B fourth place - TBD (TBD)
Group A runners-up vs Group B third place - TBD (TBD)
3 February 2026
Group B winners vs Group A fourth place - TBD (TBD)
Group B runners-up vs Group A third place - TBD (TBD)
Semifinals
5 February 2026
Winner Quarterfinal 1 vs Winner Quarterfinal 4 - TBD (TBD)
Winner Quarterfinal 2 vs Winner Quarterfinal 3 - TBD (TBD)
Final
8 February 2026
Winner Semifinal 1 vs Winner Semifinal 2 - TBD (TBD)
