Bengal, the record 32 times champions, has been placed in tough Group B along with heavyweights Punjab and Haryana in the Santosh Trophy groupings that was unveiled on Wednesday.
Odisha, Delhi and Ladakh are the other three teams in Group B. A total of 36 teams have been divided into six groups.
The toppers along with four runners-up will join defending champions Karnataka and runners-up Meghalaya in the Final Round of the 77th National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy.
Bengal, who are also runners-up on 14 occasions, are yet to win a title since 2016-17. They also hold the record for the most successive Santosh Trophy titles, having won six titles between 1993 and 1999.
Punjab are the second-most successful team with eight titles.
Seven-time winners Kerala are clubbed with Goa, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir in Group A.
The Santosh Trophy 2022-23 final was played in Riyadh. It was the first time the final was held abroad.
Karnataka beat Meghalaya in the final to lift their first title since 1968-69.
Meanwhile, 35 teams in the 28th Senior Women’s National Football Championship were divided into six groups — Groups A to E — will have six teams each, while Group F will have five sides.
The six group winners, along with four best second-placed teams will join last year’s finalists Tamil Nadu and Haryana in the final round.
“I am sure this season will see much better competition, and we will have the opportunity to see new teams and talented players come through,” AIFF Secretary General Dr Shaji Prabhakaran said at the draw ceremony here.
The dates and venues of the two tournaments are yet to be announced.
SANTOSH TROPHY GROUPINGS
Group A: Kerala, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir.
Group B: Punjab, Haryana, Odisha, Delhi, Ladakh, Bengal.
Group C: Manipur, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh.
Group D: Railways, Bihar, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Assam, Himachal Pradesh.
Group E: Services, Uttarakhand, Mizoram, Pondicherry, Sikkim, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu.
Group F: Maharashtra, Telangana, Andaman & Nicobar, Andhra Pradesh, Lakshadweep, Tripura.
SENIOR WOMEN’S NFC GROUPINGS
Group A: Manipur, Pondicherry, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh.
Group B: Bengal, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Nagaland.
Group C: Chandigarh, Assam, Sikkim, Karnataka, Kerala, Tripura.
Group D: Jharkhand, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir.
Group E: Odisha, Goa, Meghalaya, Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat.
Group F: Railways, Maharashtra, Andaman & Nicobar, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh.
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