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Santosh Trophy

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Santosh Trophy
Organising bodyAIFF
Founded1941; 83 years ago (1941)
RegionIndia
Number of teams
  • Group stage: 36
  • Final round: 10+2
Related competitionsNational Games
International cup(s)Asian Champion Club Tournament (1967–70)
Current championsServices (7th title)
Most successful team(s)West Bengal (32 titles)
Television broadcastersFIFA+ (online streaming)
SportsKPI
SportsCast India
(YouTube)
WebsiteSenior NFC
2024–25 Santosh Trophy

The National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy,[1] due to ties with FIFA[2] also known as the FIFA Santosh Trophy,[3] or simply Santosh Trophy, is an inter-state semi-professional national football competition contested by the state associations and government institutions under the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the sport's governing body in India.[4] Before the launch of the first national club league, the National Football League in 1996, the Santosh Trophy was considered the top domestic tournament in India.[5] Many players who have represented India internationally, played in the Santosh Trophy.[6] The tournament is held every year with eligible teams divided into zones, play in the qualifying round and can progress into the tournament proper.[7]

The tournament was started in 1941 by the Indian Football Association (IFA), which was the then de facto governing body of football in India. It was named after the former president of the IFA, Sir Manmatha Nath Roy Chowdhury, the Maharaja of Santosh who had died aged 61 in 1939.[5][8][9] The IFA later donated the Santosh Trophy to the AIFF, soon after its formation as the sport's official governing body in India, and since then AIFF has been organising the tournament. The trophy for the runner-up, Kamala Gupta Trophy, was also donated by the then president of IFA, Dr. S.K. Gupta, and it was named in honour of his wife.[10] The third-place trophy, Sampangi Cup, was donated by the Karnataka State Football Association (then Mysore Football Association) and was named so in the memory of a renowned footballer, Sampangi, who was from Mysore.[10] Until 2018, the tournament was organised as an individual competition, but since 2021, the AIFF rebranded it as the men's senior tier of National Football Championship for the regional teams of various age groups. In September 2022, it was announced that the tournament will be organized on zonal basis.[11]

Background

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Santosh Trophy logo used until 2021

The Santosh Trophy was started after the former presidents of the Indian Football Association, Manmatha Nath Roy Chowdhary of Santosh, and Satish Chandra Chowdhury, donated the trophy to the All India Football Federation.[5][12] At the time of the first tournament, India lacked a proper championship for football teams. The other major nationwide football competitions at the time were the Durand Cup, Rovers Cup and IFA Shield.[5] In 1990, in an attempt to bring through more younger players, the AIFF made the Santosh Trophy into an under-23 competition. This move only lasted for three seasons before the tournament was reverted to a senior competition.[5]

During his time as the head coach of India, Bob Houghton called for the tournament to be discontinued and said that it was a waste of time and talent.[5] He was more aggressive against the tournament after striker Sunil Chhetri injured himself in the 2009 Santosh Trophy and had to miss the Nehru Cup.[6] As a result, national team players were not allowed to participate in the tournament, which was also eventually reverted.[5] In 2013 the AIFF decided that players from the top-tier clubs would be barred from participating in the Santosh Trophy, but numerous members of reserve, academy and youth sides of the I-League and the Indian Super League participate in the tournament for game-time.[13] The tournament is still regarded as a suitable platform for young players from the I-League 2, I-League 3, or State leagues to attract major clubs.[14][15]

Current teams

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The following teams participate in the tournament as states, union territories and institutions.

Defunct teams

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  • Dacca (1944/45–1945/46)
  • Hyderabad (1944/45–1958/59)
  • Daman and Diu (until 2022/23)
  • Dadra and Nagar Haveli (until 2022/23)

Results

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Finals

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The following is the list of winners and runners-up from every edition of the Santosh Trophy[16]

Season Host city Winner Score Runner-up
1941–42 Kolkata Bengal 5–1 Delhi
1944–45 Delhi Delhi 2–0 Bengal
1945–46 Bombay Bengal 2–0 Bombay
1946–47 Bangalore Mysore 0–0, 2–1 Bengal
1947–48 Kolkata Bengal 0–0, 1–0 Bombay
1949–50 Kolkata Bengal 5–0 Hyderabad
1950–51 Kolkata Bengal 1–0 Hyderabad
1951–52 Bombay Bengal 1–0 Bombay
1952–53 Bangalore Mysore 1–0 Bengal
1953–54 Kolkata Bengal 0–0, 3–1 Mysore
1954–55 Madras Bombay 2–1 Services
1955–56 Ernakulam Bengal 1–0 Mysore
1956–57 Trivandrum Hyderabad 1–1, 4–1 Bombay
1957–58 Hyderabad Hyderabad 3–1 Bombay
1958–59 Madras Bengal 1–0 Services
1959–60 Nowgong Bengal 3–1 Bombay
1960–61 Kozhikode Services 0–0, 1–0 Bengal
1961–62 Bombay Railways 3–0 Bombay
1962–63 Bangalore Bengal 2–0 Mysore
1963–64 Madras Maharashtra 1–0 Andhra Pradesh
1964–65 Guwahati Railways 2–1 Bengal
1965–66 Kollam Andhra Pradesh 1–1, 1–0 Bengal
1966–67 Hyderabad Railways 0–0, 2–0 Services
1967–68 Cuttack Mysore 1–0 Bengal
1968–69 Bangalore Mysore 0–0, 1–0 Bengal
1969–70 Nowgong Bengal 6–1 Services
1970–71 Jalandhar Punjab 1–1, 3–1 Mysore
1971–72 Madras Bengal 4–1 Railways
1972–73 Goa Bengal 4–1 Tamil Nadu
1973–74 Ernakulam Kerala 3–2 Railways
1974–75 Jalandhar Punjab 6–0 Bengal
1975–76 Kozhikode Bengal 0–0, 3–1 Karnataka
1976–77 Patna Bengal 1–0 Maharashtra
1977–78 Kolkata Bengal 1–1, 3–1 Punjab
1978–79 Srinagar Bengal 1–0 Goa
1979–80 Coimbatore Bengal 1–0 Punjab
1980–81 Cuttack Punjab 0–0, 2–0 Railways
1981–82 Thrissur Bengal 2–0 Railways
1982–83 Kolkata Bengal and Goa (joint winners) – 0–0, 0–0
1983–84 Madras Goa 1–0 Punjab
1984–85 Kanpur Punjab 3–0 Maharashtra
1985–86 Jabalpur Punjab 0–0 (4–1 p) Bengal
1986–87 Calcutta Bengal 2–0 Railways
1987–88 Kollam Punjab 0–0 (5–4 p) Kerala
1988–89 Guwahati Bengal 1–1 (4–3 p) Kerala
1989–90 Margao Goa 2–0 Kerala
1990–91 Palakkad Maharashtra 1–0 Kerala
1991–92 Coimbatore Kerala 3–0 Goa
1992–93 Kochi Kerala 2–0 Maharashtra
1993–94 Cuttack Bengal 2–2 (5–3 p) Kerala
1994–95 Chennai Bengal 2–1 (a.s.d.e.t.) Punjab
1995–96 Margao Bengal 1–0 Goa
1996–97 Jabalpur Bengal 1–0 (a.s.d.e.t.) Goa
1997–98 Guwahati Bengal 1–0 Goa
1998–99 Chennai Bengal 5–0 Goa
1999–00 Thrissur Maharashtra 3–2 Kerala
2001–02 Mumbai Kerala 3–2 (a.s.d.e.t.) Goa
2002–03 Imphal Manipur 2–1 (a.s.d.e.t.) Kerala
2004–05 Delhi Kerala 3–2 Punjab
2005–06 Kochi Goa 3–1 (a.e.t.) Maharashtra
2006–07 Gurgaon Punjab 0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–3 p) West Bengal
2007–08 Srinagar Punjab 1–0 Services
2008–09 Chennai Goa 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p) West Bengal
2009–10 Kolkata West Bengal 2–1 Punjab
2010–11 Guwahati West Bengal 2–1 Manipur
2011–12 Odisha Services 3–2 Tamil Nadu
2012–13 Kochi Services 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p) Kerala
2013–14 Siliguri Mizoram 3–0 Railways
2014–15 Ludhiana Services 0–0 (5–4 p) Punjab
2015–16 Nagpur Services 2–1 Maharashtra
2016–17 Goa West Bengal 1–0 Goa
2017–18 Kolkata Kerala 2–2 (4–2 p) West Bengal
2018–19 Ludhiana Services 1–0 Punjab
2021–22 Manjeri Kerala 1–1 (5–4 p) West Bengal
2022–23 Saudi Arabia Riyadh Karnataka 3–2 Meghalaya
2023–24 Yupia Services 1–0 Goa
2024–25 Hyderabad

Final appearances

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Team Wins Runners-up Last win
West Bengal / Bengal 32 14 2016–17
Punjab 8 8 2007–08
Kerala 7 8 2021–22
Services 7 5 2023–24
Goa 5 9 2008–09
Karnataka / Mysore 5 5 2022–23
Maharashtra / Bombay 4 12 1999–00
Railways 3 6 1966–67
Hyderabad 2 2 1957–58
Andhra Pradesh / Andhra 1 1 1965–66
Delhi 1 1 1944–45
Manipur 1 1 2002–03
Mizoram 1 0 2013–14
Tamil Nadu / Madras 0 2
Meghalaya 0 1

Performance in Asian competitions

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Year Team Progress Score Opponents Venue(s)
1967 Railways Semi-finals W/O Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv Withdrew
1969 Mysore Fourth Place 0–2 Japan Toyo Kogyo at Bangkok, Thailand
1970 Bengal 3rd in Group Stage N/A Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv, Indonesia PSMS Medan, Thailand Royal Thai Police

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Hero Senior NFC". the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Arunachal jitters delink Fifa from Santosh Trophy, decision puts AIFF in a spot of bother". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
  3. ^ "AIFF Executive Committee meeting: FIFA President to attend Santosh Trophy final". the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2023. Retrieved 14 November 2023.
  4. ^ Kapadia, Novy (27 May 2012). "Memorable moments in the Santosh Trophy". sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Anand, Vijay (16 March 2014). "The history of Santosh Trophy". SportsKeeda. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b "The rise and fall of the Santosh Trophy". The Indian Express. 12 March 2014. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  7. ^ "70th Santosh Trophy". The Indian Football Live. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  8. ^ Majumdar, Boria, Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (1 February 2006). Goalless: The Story of a Unique Footballing Nation. New Delhi: Penguin India. ISBN 9780670058747. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Maharaja of Santosh dead Archived 24 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Indian Express, 1 April 1939, p. 15
  10. ^ a b "List of Winners/Runners-Up of the Santosh Trophy". IndianFootball.de. Archived from the original on 13 March 2019.
  11. ^ Mukherjee, Sayan (27 September 2022). "Six foreigners recommended for matchday squads as I-League returns on 29 Oct". news9live.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  12. ^ Sengupta, Somnath (24 April 2012). "Legends of Indian Football : The Pioneers". thehardtackle.com. The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  13. ^ "AIFF mulling over Santosh Trophy's future". News 18. 17 September 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  14. ^ Raghunandan, Vaibhav (24 April 2019). "Santosh Trophy: Where Indian Football's History and Its Future Reside". NewsClick. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  15. ^ Chakraborty, Sruti (24 February 2023). "Balai Dey: The man who connects India, Pakistan and the Hero Santosh Trophy". the-aiff.com. New Delhi: All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Santosh Trophy Winners". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2013.

Further reading

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