PANAJI
Goa have been drawn in a competitive Group H for the 79th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy 2025-26, with the group stage scheduled to run from December 15 to 26 across nine venues nationwide.
Goa will play their matches in Bengaluru, where they face Services, Lakshadweep, and hosts Karnataka, with only the group winner advancing to the Final Round.
The Santosh Trophy’s Final Round will be held in Assam in January 2026, with Dhakuakhana and Dhemaji set to host the concluding phase of the championship. The nine group winners will be joined by defending champions West Bengal, runners-up Kerala, and hosts Assam to complete the 12-team field. This marks Assam’s first time hosting the concluding phase since the 2010-11 season, when West Bengal defeated Manipur in Guwahati.
Goa open their campaign on December 20 against Services, followed by a December 22 clash with Lakshadweep, before concluding their group engagements against Karnataka on December 24.
A shot at redemption
The upcoming campaign holds significant weight for the Goan side, following a mixed run of form in recent years. The team is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2024-25 season, where they failed to progress to the knockout stages of the Final Round in Hyderabad, exiting in the group phase after losses to Odisha, Kerala and Meghalaya.
However, the team will draw confidence from their stellar performance in the 2023-24 edition, where they finished as runners-up. In a campaign that showcased their resurgence on the national stage, Goa reached the final only to suffer a heartbreaking 0-1 defeat to Services”the very team they will face in their opening match of this year's qualifiers. This sets up the December 20 clash as a high-stakes rematch.
A traditional powerhouse of Indian football, Goa is chasing a sixth Santosh Trophy title. The state has lifted the trophy five times (1982-83, 1983-84, 1989-90, 2005-06, 2008-09) but has been enduring a title drought for over 15 years. Since their last triumph in 2009, they have finished as runners-up twice (2016-17 and 2023-24).
New eligibility rules
This year's tournament will also be influenced by the All India Football Federation's (AIFF) new eligibility criteria, which mandates that states field only players born within their territory. As a state with a robust local talent pool and youth development system, Goa is expected to be one of the few sides well-positioned to adapt to this "son of the soil" policy, potentially giving them an edge over teams that rely heavily on outstation recruits.
GOA'S GROUP FIXTURES
Group H, Venue: Bengaluru: Dec 20: Goa vs Services, Dec 22: Lakshadweep vs Goa, Dec 24: Goa vs Karnataka
