Akhil Rawat
AIFF Media Team

NEW DELHI: After 57 years, the Santosh Trophy will grace the City of Pearls once again. Hyderabad, a place rich in footballing legacy, attested by their three Santosh Trophy titles in the 1950s and 1960s, will host the Final Round of the 78th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy 2024-25 from December 14 to December 31. All 37 matches of the tournament will be streamed live on ssen.co.

The esteemed GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium will stage the final to determine the 78th champions of India's premier men's state tournament on New Year's Eve. A dozen teams will hope to make it there as they take to the Deccan Arena pitch for the group stage from Saturday onwards. Apart from hosts Telangana and last year's finalists Services and Goa, nine teams traversed the qualifying rounds held across the length and breadth of the country to book their berth in Hyderabad. The top four teams from each six-team group will qualify for the quarter-finals.

Three matches will be played on the opening day. Services will kick off their title defence in the opening game of the final round as they take on Manipur at 09:00 in Group A. Seven-time champions Services are, by far, the most successful team of the recent past, winning six of the last 11 titles. Shafeel PP's stunning match-winning strike in last season's final in Yupia, Arunachal Pradesh, still feels like yesterday. Manipur, champions once in 2002 on home soil in Imphal, suffered an extra-time heartbreak at the hands of Goa last time, but are rejuvenated again after an unscathed record in qualifying.

At 14:30, it will be Telangana's turn to appease home fans when they take on Rajasthan, appearing in their first final round since 2021-22, in what could potentially be an early chance for both sides to stake a claim on that quarter-final berth. The opening day will wrap up when record 32-time winners West Bengal will face Jammu & Kashmir at 19:30, who ended their eight-year absence from the final round by breezing past Group A in qualifying with three wins. Bengal, equally dominant in Group C, were one of the only two sides that didn't concede a single goal in qualifying (the other being Kerala). But for Sanjoy Sen and his men, the trophy is what will matter the most as they aim to end a seven-year title drought.

Group B will get underway on Sunday at 09:00 with a clash between heavyweights Kerala and Goa, who have 12 Santosh Trophy titles between them. Seven of those belong to Kerala, who set the qualifying round on fire with a mammoth tally of 18 goals in three games and none conceded. Goa enjoyed direct qualification by virtue of reaching last year's final, and will be keen on going one step better to win the trophy they last claimed in 2008-09.

At 14:30, Tamil Nadu will entertain Meghalaya. Tamil Nadu were also one of the free-scorers of the qualifying stage, pumping in 17 goals, seven of those from Lijo K, who led the scoring charts after the group stage. They will be high on confidence after eliminating 2022-23 champions Karnataka in the decisive match to reach the final round. Meghalaya were runners-up after a fairy tale run in the same year, and have shown they aren't just a one-season wonder. They triumphed in a rollercoaster Group E, which included a sensational comeback 4-3 win over Arunachal Pradesh, to book their spot among the country's elite 12.

Delhi, whose sole title came in Santosh Trophy's second edition in 1944, will begin their campaign against Odisha, who have two semi-final appearances in 1967 and 1993, at 19:30. Quarter-finalists from last season, the capital side were untroubled in the qualifying round, scoring 12 times to win all three games. After missing out on the final round last time, Odisha are back with a bang as they routed Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to dominate Group F of qualifying.

GROUP A:
Services (2023-24 Champions)
West Bengal (Group C winners)
Manipur (Group D winners)
Telangana (Hosts)
Jammu & Kashmir (Group A winners)
Rajasthan (Group I winners)

GROUP B:
Goa (2023-24 Runners-up)
Delhi (Group B winners)
Kerala (Group H winners)
Tamil Nadu (Group G winners)
Odisha (Group F winners)
Meghalaya (Group E winners)

Saturday, December 14 Fixtures:
09:00 - Manipur vs Services
14:30 - Telangana vs Rajasthan
19:30 - West Bengal vs Jammu & Kashmir
(All matches will be played at the Deccan Arena and streamed live on ssen.co)