Key Points

In a double-header day in Group A, Triumph FC will face Real Lona FC at noon before 2022-23 champions Minerva Academy FC take on Juggernaut FC at 14:30, according to the AIFF website.

Seventeen teams will battle for 16 days to lift the most coveted futsal title in the country on August 18. The teams have been drawn into four groups -- three with four teams and one with five. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals.

With five teams, Group A will get underway first with a clash between two sides making their Futsal Club Championship debut -- Triumph FC from Himachal Pradesh, and Real Lona FC from Ladakh. Meanwhile, Gujarat's Juggernaut FC and Nagaland's Aphuyemi FC will return after a gap of one season.

Both sides were eliminated in the 2022-23 group stage and will try to go a step better this time. Punjab's Minerva Academy FC, champions in the same season and quarter-finalists last year, are one of the most experienced sides in the competition and will aim to become the first club to lift the trophy for the second time.

Group B is the group to watch out for as it contains both finalists from last season -- defending champions and home favourites Corbett FC, and Himachal Pradesh's Golazo FC. The Uttarakhand side ran out 3-2 winners in a thrilling 2023-24 final in Vadodara, and all eyes will be on the rematch on August 11.

Despite being debutants, West Bengal's Bhawanipore FC will also be a tough nut to crack as they have assembled an experienced squad. Thlangtiang Futsal Club from Mizoram are the fourth and final team of the group.

Also, debutants, they will look to become the third different Mizo club to reach the final four in the competition's history.

Group C also has three clubs that will make their Futsal Club Championship bow -- K3 Futsal Club from Karnataka, Pondicherry United Football Academy from Pondicherry, and Hazrat Nizamuddin Club from Madhya Pradesh. The latter two will become only the second clubs from their state associations to play at the national level.

Delhi's Goal Hunterz FC, meanwhile, will be making their third consecutive appearance. But having missed out on qualifying for the knockout stage in the last two seasons, the capital side will hope to be third time lucky in Rudrapur.

Semi-finalists from last season, Goa's Ambelim SC are placed in Group D alongside three other debutants -- Real Malabar FC Kondotty from Kerala, OGP Club from Odisha and TOFA from Telangana. Real Malabar will make history as the first-ever club from Kerala to play the Futsal Club Championship.

TOFA will take the baton from Speed Force FC, who represented Telangana in each of the previous three seasons. Similarly, OGP will become the third club from Odisha to feature in the tournament after Mangala Club and Sports Odisha.

- ANI