The Santosh Trophy, the National men’s football championship, has been given a fresh lease of life thanks to the initiative of the new committee helming the All India Football Federation.
The ongoing edition of the 82-year-old tournament will have its knockout games at the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh in the first week of March.
The decision to have the tournament’s final stage in Riyadh is a part of the “disruptive strategy for repositioning and bringing back the glory days of the Santosh Trophy (under the new roadmap Vision 2047),” says AIFF secretary general, Shaji Prabhakaran.
“After all the deliberations and discussions, we have concluded that taking the Santosh Trophy outside India is one of the better options to bring back the focus on the tournament as it is one of the most prestigious competitions in India,” Shaji told Sportstar.
The 1958 Santosh Trophy-winning Hyderabad side. | Photo Credit: THE HINDU ARCHIVES
The Santosh Trophy used to be one of the premier events in football. It was keenly contested, as the states wanted to secure national supremacy. All the great players of Indian football turned out for the state teams once a year, leaving their club affiliations. But the tournament declined since the mid-1990s when the focus shifted to the national league.
“But since the last two decades, it has lost attention. So this was the best we could strategise. Maybe something better could have been done, but we don’t know right now. The positive aspect is that we could see the difference already,” Shaji said. “We haven’t seen this sort of competitiveness in the last 10 years. The defending champions Kerala are out, and the record champions Bengal couldn’t even win a game. Big teams like Mizoram and Manipur failed to perform. Every team wanted to
be in the top four to get the opportunity to travel abroad and have the experience of a lifetime,” argued the AIFF Secretary General.
“Santosh Trophy is something we need to rebuild in a way that it becomes the most important tournament in our country,” said National team coach Igor Stimac, who has also favoured its revival.
“It has traditionally been the most passionate tournament in the country, and I hope this is something that brings passion, emotion, and competition between the state associations. That’s why it is always exciting,” he said on the AIFF website.
“The decision to take the Santosh Trophy to Saudi Arabia aligns with our overall vision for football in India because we want to have a huge impact at the grassroots level and that’s precisely what it will do because when these players come from Saudi, they will return as better and more confident players. It will encourage and increase grassroots participation. That would also drive local competitions and create an aspirational path for players to get into the state team,” Shaji said.
The new initiative is already having its effect as the legends of the sport are talking well about it. “The Santosh Trophy will bring back focus on state-level football in a bigger way. We will be able to build the capacity of the state as well. We can already see the impact as more people are talking about the Santosh Trophy, and more articles are being published,” Shaji said.
Bengal’s captain Balaram and team members celebrate with the Santosh Trophy after beating Mysore 2-0 in the final, at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore on January 14, 1963. | Photo Credit: THE HINDU ARCHIVES
“The legends of the game are talking highly of this initiative and players on the pitch are giving their best because they see it as a good platform. Players will return with the experience that we normally see with the national team. So, there are a lot of things that we’ll be able to impact with this decision,” he added.
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