Rajasthan’s under-13 boys’ football team have been awarded the silver medal in the 2025-26 Sub-Junior Boys’ National Football Championship Tier 2 after Telangana were penalised for fielding ineligible players, according to the Rajasthan Football Association.
The Times of India reported on Friday, October 16, that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) took disciplinary action against Telangana for breaking player eligibility rules during a Tier 2 match against Rajasthan. Citing Rajasthan Football Association (RFA) secretary Dilip Singh Shekhawat, the report states that the AIFF awarded the match victory to Rajasthan and fined Telangana ₹1.20 lakh.
According to the RFA, the ruling also hands Rajasthan promotion to Tier 1 of the national championship for the 2026-27 season. It would mark the state’s first appearance in the top tier since the 1991-92 campaign.
Official AIFF Records Yet to Be Updated
While Rajasthan officials have announced the promotion and silver medal, the AIFF has not published the disciplinary order on its official website. The federation’s public document archive does not yet show the date of the ruling, the specific eligibility rule broken, or the details of the sanction.
The absence of the official ruling leaves an unexplained gap between the reported match penalty and the final tournament standings. According to the AIFF’s match report from November 12, 2025, Tamil Nadu beat Telangana 2-1 in the Tier 2 final at the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Ground in Narainpur, Chhattisgarh. Souvik Halder scored for Tamil Nadu in the 13th minute, and Abidnego S added a second in first-half stoppage time. Telangana pulled a goal back late in the second half through an own goal by Jeremiah P.
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At the time of the final, the AIFF reported that both finalists, Tamil Nadu and Telangana, had earned promotion to Tier 1. Because the federation has not released a revised standings table or updated its tournament page, it remains unclear whether Telangana were disqualified from the entire competition or stripped of their runner-up spot alongside the match forfeit against Rajasthan.
Rajasthan Prepare for November Fixtures
Despite the lack of a public AIFF circular, Rajasthan are preparing to compete in Tier 1 in November 2026. Rananjay Singh Bhati captained the Rajasthan side during the 2025-26 campaign, and RFA president Manvendra Singh Jasol congratulated the players, coaches, and support staff following the reported decision.
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The Sub-Junior Boys’ National Football Championship is an under-13 tournament contested by state associations across two tiers, after the AIFF lowered the age limit from under-16 for the 2023-24 season. More information is available on the AIFF’s Sub-Junior NFC competition page. According to The Times of India, Rajasthan have been placed in a Tier 1 qualifying group with Punjab, Jharkhand, and Mizoram for next month’s tournament.
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