68th Santosh Trophy: Final Round kicks-off on February 24 in Siliguri

Defending champions Services will open their account against last edition’s semifinalists Maharashtra as the Final Round of the 68th Santosh Trophy kicks-off at the Kanchenjunga Stadium in Siliguri from February 24 with the final slated for March 9.

Under a new format 10 teams qualified from the Zonal Qualifiers, two each from the North, West, South, East & Northeast Zones. The qualified teams have been clubbed into two Groups where they would be playing each other. The top-two from each Group would progress into the semifinals and the winners will then lock horns in the summit clash.

While Group A consists of Services, Kerala, Mizoram, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra; Group B has West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Railways, Punjab and Goa.

FIXTURES

Group AServices, Kerala, Mizoram, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra

24-Feb-2014: Mizoram – Kerala24-Feb-2014: Uttarakhand – Maharashtra26-Feb-2014: Kerala – Uttarakhand26-Feb-2014: Services – Maharashtra28-Feb-2014: Services- Uttarakhand28-Feb-2014: Maharashtra – Mizoram02-Mar-2014: Maharashtra – Kerala02-Mar-2014: Mizoram – Services04-Mar-2014: Kerala – Services04-Mar-2014: Uttarakhand – Mizoram

Group BWest Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Railways, Punjab, Goa

25-Feb-2014: Railways – Tamil Nadu25-Feb-2014: Goa – Punjab27-Feb-2014: Tamil Nadu – Goa27-Feb-2014: West Bengal – Punjab01-Mar-2014: West Bengal – Goa01-Mar-2014: Punjab – Railways03-Mar-2014: Punjab – Tamil Nadu03-Mar-2014: Railways – West Bengal05-Mar-2014: Tamil Nadu – West Bengal05-Mar-2014: Goa – Railways

Semifinals07-Mar-2014: Winner Group A – Runners-Up Group B07-Mar-2014: Winner Group B – Runners-Up Group A

Final09-Mar-2014: Winner SF 1 – Winner SF 2