Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 26 (IANS): The Senior Women's National Football Championship (NFC) is set to start from November 28 in Kerala. A total of 32 teams, divided into eight groups will vie for the top honours at four venues -- Municipal Stadium, Kuthuparamba; EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode; Calicut University, Kozhikode; and Calicut Medical College, Kozhikode.
The winners of qualifying matches will play the semi-finals, with the two winners from the last four proceeding to the final. After a two-month-long camp held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi, the Football Delhi selection committee named midfielder Deepika Venkatesh captain of the Delhi team.
Last year's Delhi captain, Jyoti Ann Burrett will not travel with the team due to an injury that occurred just before a day, the team was leaving for the tournament. This is the first time she'won't be a part of the team since 2009.
Placed in Group D with Jharkhand, Karnataka, and Goa, Delhi will start their campaign on November 29.
Football Delhi President, Shaji Prabhakara" said, "Our women players have worked hard in the coaching camp and these players is having the opportunity to play the National Championship after a gap of two years will certainly motivate girls and help them to improve in their game. We are confident that the team will do well at the National Champ"onship."
The groups are as follows:
Group A: Manipur, Daman & Diu, Pondicherry, and Meghalaya
Group B: Railways, Chhattisgarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, and Tripura
Group C: Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan, and Bihar
Group D: Jharkhand, Delhi, Goa, and Karnataka
Group E: Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim, and Maharashtra
Group F: Odisha, Haryana, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh
Group G: Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Mizoram, and Uttarakhand
Group H: Tamil Nadu, Punjab, West Bengal, and Telangana.