Shillong, Nov 4: The Meghalaya Football Association (MFA) will pause the ongoing Meghalaya State League (MSL) 2024 after the conclusion of the highly entertaining group stage in order to give appropriate time and focus for the Santosh Trophy 2024-25.
The preliminary round of the All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) senior men’s tournament will take place later this month and the MFA will naturally put the state team’s interests at the top of its list of priorities.
Meghalaya were originally slotted in Group D but the AIFF has adjusted the groupings and Meghalaya are now in Group E with Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Nagaland. Only the group winners will progress to the next round, making it crucially important for the state team to be thoroughly prepared.
The MSL features players from the top clubs from the MFA’s affiliated district units, and the state squad will be largely drawn from these teams. While the MSL has given the players important match practice, it is vital that they remain free from injury for the Santosh Trophy and be able to spend adequate time training together as a unit. The last of the MSL 2024 group games will take place on November 7.
Sunesh Syiem, MFA General Secretary, and Dr Lumbor Mawsor, MSL 2024 Tournament Director and MFA Vice-President, on Monday informed that the plan was to conduct the quarterfinals on November 11 and the semis and final in the days after that but this would not give the state team enough time to prepare for the Santosh Trophy.
Meghalaya were runners-up in the Santosh Trophy 2022-23 and the MFA is aiming to challenge for the title this year too.
The MFA may conduct the MSL knockout matches if there is a big enough window between the preliminary round and final round of the Santosh Trophy or instead wait until the end of the final round. The Association is hopeful that Meghalaya will be able to succeed in the Santosh Trophy preliminaries and will provide more information on the squad in the days to come.
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