New Delhi, Aug 15: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has announced the group stage draw for the 2026-27 Dr Talimeren Ao Junior Girls’ National Football Championship, with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands placed in Tier 2 Group B alongside Telangana, Goa, Pondicherry and Arunachal Pradesh. The tournament will be staged across Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh from September 10 to October 7.
The championship will be played at two venues, with Tier 1 matches scheduled in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, from September 10 to 25. Anantapur will host the top-tier competition for the third consecutive season. Tier 2 fixtures, including the matches involving the Andaman and Nicobar team, will be played at RK Ashram Ground in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh, from September 15 to October 7.
A total of 33 state association teams will participate in this season’s competition across the two tiers. Tier 1 will feature 15 teams divided into three groups of four and one group of three, while Tier 2 will comprise 18 teams split into two groups of five and two groups of four. The winners of each group will qualify directly for the semifinals.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been grouped with Telangana, Goa, Pondicherry and Arunachal Pradesh in Group B of Tier 2, where they will compete for a place in the knockout stage.
The remaining Tier 2 groups include Chandigarh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Tripura and the Sports Authority of India in Group A; Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Nagaland in Group C; and Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Himachal Pradesh in Group D.
In Tier 1, defending champions Manipur headline Group A alongside Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala. Group B comprises West Bengal, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan, while Group C includes Delhi, Gujarat, Bihar and Jharkhand. Group D features Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The AIFF also confirmed promotion and relegation changes from the previous season. Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have earned promotion to Tier 1 after their performances in the 2025-26 Tier 2 competition, replacing Goa and Arunachal Pradesh, which have been relegated to Tier 2.
Manipur enter the tournament as defending champions after defeating West Bengal 9-0 in the final of the previous edition held in Anantapur. The 2026-27 championship will once again bring together junior girls’ teams from across the country, with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands seeking to advance from Tier 2 in the national competition.
