KOLKATA: Bengal have been placed in Group A of the main rounds of the Santosh Trophy football tournament which is scheduled to be held in two venues at Malappuram in Kerala next month. Bengal have been clubbed with hosts Kerala, Punjab, Meghalaya and Rajasthan.
They will open their campaign against Punjab on April 16 and will meet Kerala on April 18. Meghalaya will be their next opposition on April 22 and they will end their league phase campaign with a match against Rajasthan on April 24.
The top two teams of the two groups will make it to the semifinals of the premier tournament. The semifinals will be held on April 28 and 29 while the final is scheduled on May 2. The last phase matches will be staged at Payanadh Stadium in Manjeri.
Bengal will start preparation for the main rounds very soon. Coach Ranjan Bhattacharya felt the heat can play a factor. “It will be very hot and humid in Kerala next month. And we have to play a game within a gap of one day only. That will not be very easy,” he said. However, some of the matches are slotted in the morning hours.
The coach pointed out Kerala as the toughest opposition in their group although he felt it is a good group of strong rivals. Teams like Punjab and Meghalaya are also capable of causing upsets on their days.
GROUP A: Meghalaya, Punjab, Bengal, Rajasthan, Kerala (Matches from April 16-24)
GROUP B: Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, Services, Manipur (Matches from April 17-25)
