2025–26 Santosh Trophy

2025–26 Santosh Trophy
Senior Men's; National Football Championship
Tournament details
Country	India
Venues	9 (in 9 host cities) Group stage: Various; Finals: Dhakuakhana, Dhemaji, Assam;
Dates	15 December 2025 – 8 February 2025
Teams	38
Final positions
Champions	Services (8th title)
Runners-up	Kerala
Tournament statistics
Matches played	88
Goals scored	250 (2.84 per match)
Top goal scorer	Himanshu Jangra (9 goals)

The 2025–26 Santosh Trophy was the 79th edition of the Santosh Trophy, the premier competition in India for senior men's football teams representing their respective states/union territories and government institutions.^[1]

Venues

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced in November 2025 that the group stage matches would begin the following month and would be played in nine venues. The venues and the corresponding groups that would play there were named. Hosts Assam and last year's finalists, West Bengal and Kerala were exempted from playing the group stage fixtures. Assam is hosting the event after 15 years.^[1]

Group	City	Stadium	Capacity
A	Mahilpur	Mahilpur Stadium	10,000
B	Greater Noida	Sharda University Stadium	–
C	Ranchi	Birsa Munda Football Stadium	40,000
D	Agartala	Umakanta Mini Stadium	5,000
E	Shillong	SSA Football Stadium	15,100
F	Narayanpur	RKM Sports Complex	1,000
G	Anantapur	RDT Stadium	5,000
H	Bengaluru	Bangalore Football Stadium	–
I	Jaipur	Vidyadhar Nagar Stadium	–
Final round^[2]	Dhakuakhana & Dhemaji	Dhakuakhana Football Stadium & Silapathar Football Stadium
Knockouts	Dhakuakhana & Dhemaji	Dhakuakhana Football Stadium & Silapathar Football Stadium

Draws

38 teams entered the competition; West Bengal and Kerala, the finalists of the previous edition and Assam, the hosts received direct entry to the final round. The remaining 35 teams were divided into 1 group of 3 teams and 8 groups of 4 teams each. It was announced that the winners of each group would make the final round.^[1]^[3]

Group stage

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	PB	JK	LA	HP
1	Punjab (H)	3	3	0	10	0	+10	9	Final round		1–0
2	Jammu and Kashmir	3	2	1	6	1	+5	6				3–0
3	Ladakh	3	1	2	1	6	−5	3		0–3			1–0
4	Himachal Pradesh	3	0	3	0	10	−10	0		0–6	0–3

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	UK	HR	CH	UP
1	Uttarakhand	3	3	0	0	5	0	+5	9	Final round			1–0	2–0
2	Haryana	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4		0–2
3	Chandigarh	3	1	0	2	1	3	−2	3			0–2		1–0
4	Uttar Pradesh (H)	3	0	1	2	1	4	−3	1			1–1

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	RL	DL	JH	BR
1	Railways	3	2	1	0	13	0	+13	7	Final round			6–0
2	Delhi (H)	3	2	1	0	10	1	+9	7		0–0			2–0
3	Jharkhand	3	1	0	2	2	14	−12	3			1–8
4	Bihar	3	0	0	3	0	10	−10	0		0–7		0–1

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	NL	MN	MZ	TR
1	Nagaland	3	2	1	0	5	1	+4	7	Final round		3–0		1–1
2	Manipur	3	2	0	1	8	5	+3	6				3–1	5–1
3	Mizoram	3	1	0	2	2	4	−2	3		0–1
4	Tripura (H)	3	0	1	2	2	7	−5	1				0–1

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	Pts	Qualification	ML	SK	AR
1	Meghalaya (H)	2	1	1	3	3	3	Final round		1–2
2	Sikkim	2	1	1	2	2	3				0–1
3	Arunachal Pradesh	2	1	1	2	2	3		1–2

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	OD	TG	CG	MP
1	Odisha	3	3	0	8	1	+7	9	Final round				4–0
2	Telangana	3	2	1	6	2	+4	6		0–1
3	Chhattisgarh (H)	3	1	2	5	5	0	3		1–3	1–2
4	Madhya Pradesh	3	0	3	0	11	−11	0			0–4	0–3

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group G

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	TN	PY	AP
1	Tamil Nadu	3	3	0	14	0	+14	9	Final round			5–0
2	Pondicherry	3	2	1	5	5	0	6		0–3		2–1
3	Andhra Pradesh (H)	3	1	2	2	8	−6	3			1–3
4	Andaman & Nicobar	3	0	3	1	9	−8	0		0–6		0–1

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group H

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	SE	GA	KA	LD
1	Services	3	3	0	0	8	2	+6	9	Final round			2–1
2	Goa (H)	3	1	1	1	3	5	−2	4		0–4		2–0
3	Karnataka	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3					3–0
4	Lakshadweep	3	0	1	2	2	6	−4	1		1–2	1–1

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group I

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	RJ	GJ	MH	DD
1	Rajasthan (H)	3	2	1	0	10	1	+9	7	Final round		1–1
2	Gujarat	3	2	1	0	9	1	+8	7				3–0
3	Maharashtra	3	1	0	2	4	6	−2	3		0–3			4–0
4	DNHDD	3	0	0	3	0	15	−15	0		6–0	0–5

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Final round

Qualified teams

Direct entrants (3)
Hosts	Assam
Defending champions	West Bengal
Previous runners-up	Kerala

Group	Group winners (9)
A	Punjab
B	Uttarakhand
C	Railways
D	Nagaland
E	Meghalaya
F	Odisha
G	Tamil Nadu
H	Services
I	Rajasthan

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	WB	TN	RJ	UK	NL
1	West Bengal	5	3	2	0	8	2	+6	11	Advanced to knockout stage		1–1	1–0	1–0	4–0
2	Tamil Nadu	5	3	1	1	6	2	+4	10
3	Rajasthan	5	2	1	2	6	8	−2	7			1–0
4	Assam (H)	5	1	3	1	8	6	+2	6		1–1	0–1	3–2	1–1	3–3
5	Uttarakhand	5	1	1	3	5	7	−2	4			0–1	2–3
6	Nagaland	5	0	2	3	6	14	−8	2			0–3	2–2	1–2

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts		KL	RL	PB	SE	ML	OD
1	Kerala	5	3	1	1	8	3	+5	10	Advanced to knockout stage			3–1		3–0	1–0
2	Railways	5	1	4	0	7	5	+2	7		1–1		2–0	1–1	2–2
3	Punjab	5	2	1	2	10	10	0	7						3–3	5–2
4	Services	5	1	3	1	4	4	0	6		1–0		0–1		2–2	0–0
5	Meghalaya	5	1	3	1	8	10	−2	6							1–0
6	Odisha	5	0	2	3	3	8	−5	2			1–1

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots

Knockout stage

Bracket

Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Final

3 February – Dhakuakhana

West Bengal	0 (2)
		5 February – Dhemaji
Services (p)	0 (3)
		Services	2
3 February – Dhakuakhana
		Railways	0
Railways	2
				8 February – Dhakuakhana
Rajasthan	0
				Services (a.e.t.)	1
3 February – Dhemaji
				Kerala	0
Kerala	3
		5 February – Dhakuakhana
Assam	0
		Kerala	4
3 February – Dhemaji
		Punjab	0
Tamil Nadu	1 (1)

Punjab (p)	1 (4)

Quarter-finals

3 February 2026	Railways	2–0	Rajasthan	Dhakuakhana, Assam
09:00 IST	S. Bhanwala 78' Johnson Joseph Mathews 83'	Report		Stadium: Dhakuakhana Football Stadium Attendance: 250 Referee: I Jamal Mohamed Player of the Match: Johnson Joseph Mathews (Railways)

3 February 2026	Tamil Nadu	1–1 (a.e.t.) (1–4 p)	Punjab	Dhemaji, Assam
09:00 IST	M Umasankar 78'	Report	Jatinder Singh Rana 37'	Stadium: Silapathar Football Stadium Attendance: 800 Referee: Lakshay Player of the Match: Karandeep Singh (Punjab)
	Penalties
	Henry Joseph Immanuel M Umasankar VK Velmurugan		Akashdeep Singh Harjit Akashmaan Chaudhary Jagdeep Singh

3 February 2026	West Bengal	0–0 (a.e.t.) (2–3 p)	Services	Dhakuakhana, Assam
14:00 IST		Report		Stadium: Dhakuakhana Football Stadium Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Jehrul Islam Player of the Match: Gagandeep Singh (Services)
	Penalties
	Chaku Mandi Karan Rai Shyamal Besra R. Hansda H. Shrestha		Samuel K Vanlalpeka Wangden Tamang Vijay Marandi Vijay J Abhishek Pawar

3 February 2026	Kerala	3–0	Assam	Dhemaji, Assam
14:00 IST	Manoj M 17' Ajsal 44' Aboobacker Dilshad 90+4'	Report		Stadium: Silapathar Football Stadium Attendance: 2,200 Referee: Jarvish Macwan Player of the Match: Manoj M (Kerala)

Semi-finals

5 February 2026	Kerala	4–0	Punjab	Dhakuakhana, Assam
13:30 IST	Ajsal 15' Muhammed Riyas 33', 83' Viknesh Mariya 45'	Report		Stadium: Dhakuakhana Football Stadium Attendance: 3,500 Referee: Aditya Purkayahtha Player of the Match: Muhammed Riyas (Kerala)

5 February 2026	Services	2–0	Railways	Dhemaji, Assam
13:30 IST	Abhishek Pawar 33', 73'	Report		Stadium: Silapathar Football Stadium Attendance: 500 Referee: Ashwin Player of the Match: Abhishek Pawar (Services)

Final

8 February 2026	Services	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Kerala	Dhakuakhana, Assam
13:00 IST	Abhishek Pawar 109'	Report		Stadium: Dhakuakhana Football Stadium Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Jehrul Islam Player of the Match: Abhishek Pawar (Services)

Statistics

Rank	Player	Team	Goal(s)
1	Himanshu Jangra	Delhi	9
2	Abhishek Pawar	Services	7
3	Nirmal Singh Bisht	Delhi	6
4	Mukesh Kumar	Rajasthan	6
5	Devadath S	Tamil Nadu	6
Source: AIFF

Awards

The following awards were given out at the end of the tournament: the top scorer, Best Goalkeeper, Player of the Tournament and Fair Play Award.

Award	Player	Team
Top Scorer
Best Goalkeeper
Player of the Tournament
Fair Play Award

Broadcasting

Territory	Broadcaster(s)	Ref.
India	YouTube	^[1]
India	FIFA+	^[2]^[4]
Global	FIFA+	^[2]^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Assam to host Santosh Trophy 2025-26 Final Round in January". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
^ "79th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy: Draw out for 12-team Final Round". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
^ "79th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy: Fixtures". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 27 November 2025.
^ "Santosh Trophy to be streamed live globally on FIFA+ for free". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

External links

Official website
Tournament results – home at FootyStats

[:0-1] "Assam to host Santosh Trophy 2025-26 Final Round in January". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 27 November 2025.

[:fixtures_assam-2] "79th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy: Draw out for 12-team Final Round". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 27 November 2025.

[:fixtures-3] "79th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy: Fixtures". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 27 November 2025.

[4] "Santosh Trophy to be streamed live globally on FIFA+ for free". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 22 February 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Santosh Trophy
Seasons	1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24
Qualifiers	1999–00 2008–09 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2021–22
Group stage	2021–22 2022–23
Finals	2017 2018 2019
Teams	Andaman and Nicobar Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Chandigarh Chhattisgarh Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu Delhi Goa Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir Jharkhand Karnataka Kerala Ladakh Lakshadweep Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Odisha Pondicherry Punjab Railways Rajasthan Services Sikkim Tamil Nadu Telangana Tripura Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand West Bengal

Venues

Draws

Group stage

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Group I

Final round

Qualified teams

Group A

Group B

Knockout stage

Bracket

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Statistics

Awards

Broadcasting

See also

References

External links