AIFF announce 2019-20 Santosh Trophy schedule
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced the schedule for the 2020 season of the Santosh Trophy on Friday after the draw was held in Dwarka, New Delhi. Delhi will play the winners of Group A in the South Zone Qualifiers, while Services locks horns with Jharkhand on day one (January 10).
The inter-state tournament is scheduled to be held in January 2020 in Mizoram, with the final to be played on January 23. The eight teams that have already qualified for the final phase are waiting to be joined by two more teams from the two groups in the South Zone qualifiers, which kicks off on November 5.
Defending champions Services have been clubbed with Delhi, Jharkhand, and Meghalaya. The group will be completed by the winner of Group A from the South Zone qualifiers. 32-time champion West Bengal, on the other hand, will start their campaign from Group B alongside Punjab, Goa, and host Mizoram. The Group B winners from the South Zone qualifiers will complete the group.
The schedule runs from January 10, with two matches being held per day till the end of the group stage on January 19. After a day of rest, the two top teams from either group will battle it out in the semi-finals on January 21, before the finals scheduled on the day after another rest day on 22nd.
