New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) The 75th National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy will kick off on April 16 with a match between traditional powerhouses West Bengal and Punjab at the Kottappadi Stadium in Malappuram, Kerala.

All the matches in the tournament are set to be held at two venues in Malappuram -- Manjeri Payyanaad Stadium and Kottappadi Stadium.

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The final will be held on May 2 at the Manjeri Payyanaad.

A total of 10 teams will be participating in the tournament, with old foes West Bengal and Punjab set to kick off the proceedings.

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The 10 teams have been divided into two groups of five each, with the top two sides from each group proceeding to the semi-finals, scheduled to be held on April 28 and 29.

The tournament is being hosted in Malappuram with logistical and infrastructural aid from the Kerala government.

Group A: Meghalaya, Punjab, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Kerala

Group B: Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, Services, Manipur.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)