The official draw for the seventy fifth version of the Santosh Trophy was held in New Delhi on Thursday the place 10 groups who got here by means of the qualifiers have been drawn into two teams of 5 every for the primary occasion which can be held in Kerala from February 20, 2022 onwards.
“I was very pleased to know that the Hero Santosh Trophy would be taking place in Kerala as it is a footballing state,” stated former India defender Gouramangi Singh, who was aiding within the course of.
“It is a great initiative by the AIFF and Kerala Government and I wish the players all the best,” he added.
Group A might simply be categorized as a ‘Group of Death’ with the likes of West Bengal, Kerala and Punjab going head-to-head together with Meghalaya and shock package deal Rajasthan.
Group B sees defending champions Services paired alongside Manipur, Karnataka, Odisha and Gujarat, the latter qualifying on the expense of powerhouses Goa.
The Platinum Jubilee version of the Santosh Trophy can be inaugurated by the competitors’s two most profitable sides – West Bengal (32-time winners) and Punjab (8). Hosts Kerala open their marketing campaign towards Rajasthan who pipped Maharashtra by a degree within the West Zone qualifiers.
Services start the defence of their title towards a Manipur facet which knocked out Mizoram in qualifying. Karnataka, who got here by means of with an ideal report, can be hoping to construct additional momentum of their opening sport towards Odisha.
The prime two groups from every group will qualify for the semi-finals.
Group A: Meghalaya, Punjab, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Kerala
Group B: Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, Services, Manipur
