Senior Women's NFC for Rajmata Jijabai Trophy to kick off in Kolkata

Twelve teams, divided into two groups of six each, will play in a single round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals. The 12 teams in the final round consist of six group stage winners, three best runners-up and three direct entrants West Bengal (hosts), Tamil Nadu (defending champions) and Haryana (runners-up). Matches will be played at the Kishore Bharati Stadium and the AIFF National Centre of Excellence

The Final Round of the 28th edition of the Senior Women's National Football Championship for Rajmata Jijabai Trophy is set to commence in Kolkata on Wednesday. Twelve teams, divided into two groups of six each, will play in a single round-robin format, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semi-finals. The 12 teams in the final round consist of six group stage winners, three best runners-up and three direct entrants West Bengal (hosts), Tamil Nadu (defending champions) and Haryana (runners-up). Matches will be played at the Kishore Bharati Stadium and the AIFF National Centre of Excellence.

The Final Round group stage will finish on May 11. The semi-finals are scheduled for May 13 and the champions will be crowned on May 15. In Group A, Tamil Nadu's title defence will begin at 8 am on Wednesday as they face Delhi, who qualified for the final round with a perfect record of three wins in three. Railways, who have been champions once in 2015-16 and runners-up five times, are the other favourites in the group. They had a spotless qualifying campaign, pumping 38 goals without reply, and will face Chandigarh in their first match, who qualified as one of the best runners-up. Hosts West Bengal will have their work cut out in Group A if they are to break their 27-year title drought. They have lost 10 finals since then, including nine defeats to Manipur. West Bengal's campaign will begin against Punjab, who will be eager to put on a better showing after failing to win a game in the final round last year.

Group B contains eternal heavyweights Manipur, who have staggeringly won 21 of the previous 27 editions of the Senior Women's NFC. Without any surprises, they ruthlessly won all three of their qualifying matches with a 27-0 aggregate. After a shocking group-stage exit last year, Manipur will look to reclaim the title, beginning with their first game on May 2 against Jharkhand, who qualified as one of the best runners-up. Haryana had a dream run last year, making the final for the first time in their history. They were bronze medallists at the 2023 National Games in Goa and will be hunting for another podium finish in Kolkata in two weeks. In their first game, Haryana will be up against one of the toughest opponents in Odisha, who were champions in 2011-12 and National Games gold medallists last year after edging out Manipur on penalties. Maharashtra and Sikkim are the other two teams in the group. Maharashtra were also one of the best runners-up and only lost once to Railways in qualifying, while Sikkim topped Group C, with four wins and a draw. 28th Senior Women's National Football Championship for Rajmata Jijabai Trophy 2023-24 Final Round Fixtures:

May 1 - Group A08:00, Delhi vs Tamil Nadu (AIFF NCE)16:00, Railways vs Chandigarh (AIFF NCE)16:00, Punjab vs West Bengal (Kishore Bharati Stadium) May 2 - Group B08:00, Odisha vs Haryana (AIFF NCE)16:00, Manipur vs Jharkhand (AIFF NCE)16:00, Sikkim vs Maharashtra (Kishore Bharati Stadium)

May 3 - Group A08:00, Delhi vs Chandigarh (AIFF NCE)16:00, Punjab vs Railways (AIFF NCE)16:00, Tamil Nadu vs West Bengal (Kishore Bharati Stadium) May 4 - Group B08:00, Haryana vs Jharkhand (AIFF NCE)16:00, Odisha vs Maharashtra (AIFF NCE)16:00, Manipur vs Sikkim (Kishore Bharati Stadium)

May 5 - Group A08:00, Tamil Nadu vs Railways (AIFF NCE)16:00, Chandigarh vs Punjab (AIFF NCE)16:00, West Bengal vs Delhi (Kishore Bharati Stadium) May 6 - Group B08:00, Jharkhand vs Odisha (AIFF NCE)16:00, Haryana vs Sikkim (AIFF NCE)16:00, Maharashtra vs Manipur (Kishore Bharati Stadium)

May 8 - Group A (Time and Venue TBD)Railways vs West BengalChandigarh vs Tamil NaduPunjab vs Delhi May 9 - Group B (Time and Venue TBD)Sikkim vs JharkhandMaharashtra vs HaryanaManipur vs Odisha

May 10 - Group A (Time and Venue TBD)West Bengal vs ChandigarhDelhi vs RailwaysTamil Nadu vs Punjab May 11 - Group B (Time and Venue TBD)Jharkhand vs MaharashtraOdisha vs SikkimHaryana vs Manipur

May 13 - Semi-finals (Time and Venue TBD)Winner Group A vs Runner-up Group BWinner Group B vs Runner-up Group A May 15 - Final (Time and Venue TBD)Winner Semi-final 1 vs Winner Semi-final 2.(ANI)

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