Defending champions Services and runners-up Mizoram are among 10 teams vying for the top honours in the 70th edition of the senior National Football Championship for Santosh trophy which will be played here from February 29 to March 13.
Apart from both the teams, Jammu and Kashmir, Railways, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Goa have qualified for the league cum knock out matches, Nagpur District Football Association (NDFA) president Haresh Vora told reporters here today.
Matches will be played at South East Central Railway ground in Motibagh and Nagpur University ground, Secretary of the hosts Western India Football Association (WIFA) Souter Vaz and Tournament director and assistant secretary of All India Football Federation (AIFF), Anil Kamath said.
While the league matches will conclude on March 9, the semi-finals will be played after a day's break on March 11 and the final is scheduled for March 13.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Shipping and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari along with former Union Minister and AIFF President and Praful Patel will be present for the finals, Vora said.
Some of the teams including the Railways have already landed in the orange-city, he added.
