Shillong, Jan 2: Meghalaya face a stern challenge in the final round of the 79th Senior Men’s National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2025–26, having been drawn alongside several former champions in Group B.

The draw was conducted on December 31 at the All India Football Federation (AIFF) headquarters in New Delhi. The final round, to be hosted by Assam from January 21, will feature 12 teams divided into two groups of six.

Group A comprises hosts Assam, defending champions West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Nagaland and Rajasthan.

Group B features Meghalaya, Kerala, Services, Punjab, Odisha and Railways. Kerala, the runners-up in the previous edition, are multiple-time champions, most recently lifting the trophy in 2021–22. Services were champions in 2023–24 and were responsible for knocking Meghalaya out of the 2024–25 edition at the quarterfinal stage.

Punjab last won the Santosh Trophy in 2007–08, though they have finished runners-up on three occasions since. Railways last lifted the title six decades ago, but were runners-up as recently as 2013–14.

Neither Meghalaya nor Odisha have won the championship so far. Meghalaya’s best performance came in 2022–23, when they finished runners-up after a narrow 3–2 final defeat to Karnataka. Notably, that side was coached by Khlain Pyrkhat Syiemlieh, who continues to lead the team this season.

Meghalaya endured a tough preliminary round last month but qualified for the finals by topping their group, which included Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Despite the holiday period, the team has continued intensive preparations as they aim to make a deep run in the tournament.

Hosts Assam received direct entry into the final round, while West Bengal and Kerala qualified automatically as the winners and runners-up of the 2024–25 edition respectively.

The top four teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage. The quarterfinals are scheduled for February 2–3, followed by the semifinals on February 5, with the final to be played on February 8.