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The 72nd edition of the premier football competition in India that consists of sides representing their state and regional football associations will start later this year with qualifiers already underway.
The tournament started in 1941 and since then, it has been held every year except the three years between 1942 and 1944. The competition was made into an U-23 competition for three years between 1990 and 1992 but the decision was reverted later.
In the 71st edition of the tournament, West Bengal defeated the hosts Goa in the final by a scoreline of 1-0 with Manvir Singh scoring the winner in the 119th minute of the game.
2017 finalists Goa have already qualified for this year's tournament alongside Maharashtra, Mizoram and Manipur. Defending champions Bengal are yet to qualify for the tournament and they will be taking part in the East Zone qualifiers to be held in Patna.
In the South Zone qualifiers, the top teams from each group will qualify for the main tournament. While Group A consists of Karnataka, Services, Telangana and Pondicherry, the Group B has only three teams namely Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Here is all the information you need to know:
Tournament name: 2017-18 Santosh Trophy South Zone Qualifiers
Venue: Bangalore Football Stadium, Karnataka
Round: South Zone Qualifiers
Schedule:
17 January: Karnataka vs Telangana at 1: 15 pm, Services vs Pondicherry at 4 pm
18 January: Kerala vs Andhra Pradesh at 4 pm
19 January: Pondicherry vs Karnataka at 1:15 pm, Telangana vs Services at 4 pm
20 January: Andhra Pradesh vs Tamil Nadu at 4 pm
21 January: Telangana vs Pondicherry at 1: 15 pm, Karnataka vs Services at 4 pm
22 January: Tamil Nadu vs Kerala at 4 pm
If you are not able to go to the stadium, you can follow the South Zone qualifiers of the Santosh Trophy on Sportskeeda's live blog.
