Five U-21 players for Santosh Trophy

PANAJI: Nagpur will host the National Football Championship for the Santosh Trophy for the first time next year.
The regional qualifiers are expected to be played in January and February while the final round in Nagpur is scheduled for March 2016.
Maharashtra was the only state that bid to host the Santosh Trophy and the All India Football Federation (AIFF) were satisfied that Nagpur had enough facilities to stage India’s national football championship.
“Nagpur is an important city and football-wise has plenty of promise. The AIFF conducted an inspection of the facilities in Nagpur and were satisfied. The district association too wants to promote football in a big way. It’s, after all, Maharashtra’s football hub,” said WIFA CEO Henry Menezes.
The AIFF is set to introduce a new rule that will make it mandatory for all states to include five under-21 players in their teams for the Santosh Trophy and will continue with its zonal qualification policy.
The regional qualifiers will see 10 teams from five different regions qualify for the final round. The five zones include East, West, North, South and North-east.
Meanwhile, the AIFF executive committee unanimously granted Madhya Pradesh FA the right to host the Senior National Women’s Championship.