Santosh Trophy's final phase in Malappuram from April 16

Ten teams, divided into two groups, will be in action in the event and matches will be played at the Kottapadi Stadium and Manjeri's Payyanad Stadium.

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE: The Santosh Trophy's final phase will be held after three years with Services winning the previous edition (73 edition, 2018-19) in April 2019 in Ludhiana.

The Hero 75 Santosh Trophy National Football Championship's final phase, postponed from February, will now be held in two venues in Kerala's Malappuram District from April 16 to May 2.

Ten teams, divided into two groups, will be in action in the event and matches will be played at the Kottapadi Stadium and Manjeri's Payyanad Stadium. Two matches will be played every day in the league phase and the top two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals. The semifinals and final will be played at Manjeri.

READ: A bunch of fighters from Lakshadweep

The Santosh Trophy's final phase will be held after three years with Services winning the previous edition (73 edition, 2018-19) in April 2019 in Ludhiana. The zonal qualifying rounds of the 74 edition were played but the final phase had to be cancelled owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

The groupings:

Group A (matches from April 16-24): Meghalaya, Punjab, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Kerala.

Group B (matches from April 17-25): Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, Services, Manipur.

Semifinals (Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri): April 28 & 29.

Final (Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri): May 2.