New Delhi, Jun 21 (PTI) The third edition of the All India Futsal Club Championship will begin at Swarnim Gujarat Sports University in Vadodara district of Gujarat on Saturday.

The tournament will be broadcast live on the Indian Football YouTube channel.

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Nineteen teams will compete over 16 days to reach the final and lift the trophy on July 7. They were divided into four groups: Groups A, B and C, each containing five teams, and Group D, containing four teams.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals.

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The first two editions of the FIFA Futsal All India Club Championship were held in Delhi, making this the first time the tournament has been held outside the capital.

For hosts Gujarat, Baroda Football Academy will be hoping to go one better than their group stage elimination in the inaugural edition of the 2021-22 season.

They are in Group C with Speed ​​Force FC (Telangana) who almost qualified for the semi-finals last year. The other three teams in the group will make their debut in the tournament – ​​FC Thyristor, Ramhlun Vengai (Mizoram), Guwahati City FC (Assam) and Ambelim Sports Club (Goa).

Group A also includes three teams who made their debut in the AIFF Futsal Club Championship – MUM – Millat FC (Maharashtra), Corbett FC (Uttarakhand) and Nyenshen FC (Nagaland).

The latter team will be the third team to represent Nagaland in three years after Teelungjim and Afwiemi, while Maharashtra and Uttarakhand will be represented for the first time. Clubs with previous domestic experience in the group include Manipur Classic Football Academy (2021-22) and Odisha Sports Odisha (2022-23).

The second group includes defending champions Minerva Academy, who won last year's edition.

Electric Feng Futsal FC (Mizoram), Bangalore Arrows FC (Karnataka), Satvir FC (Haryana) and Goal Hunters FC (Delhi) defend the Punjab title in the group stage.

The rematch of last season's semi-final between Minerva Academy and Electric Veng, which Minerva Academy won 13-8 in a high-scoring thriller, was one of the most anticipated matches of the group stage. Bangalore Arrows will make their debut, while Satvir FC will be the first team to represent Haryana in the tournament. The Goal Hunters, eliminated in the group stage last year, hope to take a new step.

Group D, the fourth and final group, is made up of four teams including Delhi FC, champions of the inaugural edition.

They failed to defend their title last year after losing to El Mohamady Sporting 6-7 in the semi-finals. The other three teams in the group will make their debut in the AIFF Futsal Club Championship – Casa Parwani FC (Madhya Pradesh), Golazo FC (Himachal Pradesh) and GCT Football Academy (Punjab).

The group stages took place from June 22 to July 1. The quarter-finals will take place on July 3, followed by the semi-finals on July 5 and the final on July 7.

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