The Meghalaya Football Association on Thursday announced that Shillong will play host to the prestigious Hero Junior National Football Championship (Tier 1) for the Dr B C Roy Trophy.
The tournament will be held from January 28 to February 6 next.
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The 27 matches will be played at Polo Ground.
Sixteen teams have been divided into four groups, with four group matches per day.
The top team from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
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The semi-finals will be held on February 3 and 4, with the final slated for February 6 next.
Meghalaya have been clubbed with Haryana, Odisha and the Sports Authority of India in Group C.
Mizoram, who are the defending champions, are in Group A.
The only other north-eastern team – Manipur – are in Group B.
The Dr B C Roy Trophy follows a promotion-relegation system, with the top two teams from Tier 2 promoted to Tier 1, with the bottom two of Tier 1 dropping into the lower tier.
The MFA is confident in the potential of the Meghalaya boys, who have been training diligently for this mega-event under the eye of the MFA’s Youth Development Cell.
The association is also hopeful in the ability of the State to organize the championship in a befitting manner after successfully hosting the Indian Women’s League and U-18 Youth League (now Elite League) in 2018.
The Association has asked the football-loving people of the State to come out and support the boys as they embark on their campaign to become national champions.
Meghalaya group fixtures:
vs Haryana, 28 January
vs Odisha, 30 January
vs Sports Authority of India, 1 February