Santosh Trophy

National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy,[1] due to sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp, also known as the Hero National Football Championship, or simply Santosh Trophy, is a state-level 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.[2] Before the starting of the first national club league, the National Football League in 1996, the Santosh Trophy was considered the top domestic honour in India.[3] Many players who have represented India internationally, played and gained honour while playing in the Santosh Trophy.[4] The tournament is held every year with eligible teams who are divided into zones, must play in the qualifying round and can progress into the tournament proper.[5] The current champions are Karnataka, who won their title after 54 years during the 2022–23 edition. This was the first trophy for Karnataka, which had previously won four times as the princely state of Mysore, after 1968-69.

Santosh Trophy
Organising bodyAIFF
Founded1941 (1941)
RegionIndia
Number of teams
  • Group stage: 36
  • Final round: 10+2
Related competitionsNational Games
Indian State Leagues
Current championsKarnataka (5th title)
Most successful team(s)West Bengal (32 titles)
Television broadcastersAIFF (YouTube)
100 Sports TV
G Sports Live
SportsKPI
SportsCast India
WebsiteHero Senior NFC

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.[3][6][7] 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.[8] 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.[8] 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.[9]

Background
Santosh Trophy logo used until 2021

The Santosh Trophy was started in 1941 after the former president of the Indian Football Association, Sir Manmatha Nath Roy Chowdhary of Santosh and later, Sir Satish Chandra Chowdhury donated the trophy to the All India Football Federation.[3][10] 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 Durand Cup, Rovers Cup and IFA Shield.[3] 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.[3]

During his time as the head coach of India, Bob Houghton called for the tournament to be discontinued and that it was a waste of time and talent.[3] 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.[4] As a result, national team players were not allowed to participate in the tournament, which was also eventually reverted.[3] 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.[11] The tournament still is regarded as a suitable platform for young players to attract the eyes of scouts of major clubs in the country.[12][13]

Available teams

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

Results

Finals

The following is the list of winners and runners-up from every edition of the Santosh Trophy[14]

Season Host city Winner Score Runner-up
1941–42KolkataBengal5–1Delhi
1944–45DelhiDelhi2–0Bengal
1945–46BombayBengal2–0Bombay
1946–47BangaloreMysore0–0, 2–1Bengal
1947–48KolkataBengal0–0, 1–0Bombay
1949–50KolkataBengal5–0Hyderabad
1950–51KolkataBengal1–0Hyderabad
1951–52BombayBengal1–0Bombay
1952–53BangaloreMysore1–0Bengal
1953–54KolkataBengal0–0, 3–1Mysore
1954–55MadrasBombay2–1Services
1955–56ErnakulamBengal1–0Mysore
1956–57TrivandrumHyderabad1–1, 4–1Bombay
1957–58HyderabadHyderabad3–1Bombay
1958–59MadrasBengal1–0Services
1959–60NowgongBengal3–1Bombay
1960–61KozhikodeServices0–0, 1–0Bengal
1961–62BombayRailways3–0Bombay
1962–63BangaloreBengal2–0Mysore
1963–64MadrasMaharashtra1–0Andhra Pradesh
1964–65GuwahatiRailways2–1Bengal
1965–66KollamAndhra Pradesh1–1, 1–0Bengal
1966–67HyderabadRailways0–0, 2–0Services
1967–68CuttackMysore1–0Bengal
1968–69BangaloreMysore0–0, 1–0Bengal
1969–70NowgongBengal6–1Services
1970–71JalandharPunjab1–1, 3–1Mysore
1971–72MadrasBengal4–1Railways
1972–73GoaBengal4–1Tamil Nadu
1973–74ErnakulamKerala3–2Railways
1974–75JalandharPunjab6–0Bengal
1975–76KozhikodeBengal0–0, 3–1Karnataka
1976–77PatnaBengal1–0Maharashtra
1977–78KolkataBengal1–1, 3–1Punjab
1978–79SrinagarBengal1–0Goa
1979–80CoimbatoreBengal1–0Punjab
1980–81CuttackPunjab0–0, 2–0Railways
1981–82ThrissurBengal2–0Railways
1982–83KolkataBengal and Goa (joint winners) – 0–0, 0–0
1983–84MadrasGoa1–0Punjab
1984–85KanpurPunjab3–0Maharashtra
1985–86JabalpurPunjab0–0 (4–1 p)Bengal
1986–87CalcuttaBengal2–1Railways
1987–88KollamPunjab0–0 (5–4 p)Kerala
1988–89GuwahatiBengal1–1 (4–3 p)Kerala
1989–90MargaoGoa2–0Kerala
1990–91PalakkadMaharashtra1–0Kerala
1991–92CoimbatoreKerala3–0Goa
1992–93KochiKerala2–0Maharashtra
1993–94CuttackBengal2–2 (5–3 p)Kerala
1994–95ChennaiBengal2–1 (a.s.d.e.t.)Punjab
1995–96MargaoBengal1–0Goa
1996–97JabalpurBengal1–0 (a.s.d.e.t.)Goa
1997–98GuwahatiBengal1–0Goa
1998–99ChennaiBengal5–0Goa
1999–00ThrissurMaharashtra3–2Kerala
2001–02MumbaiKerala3–2 (a.s.d.e.t.)Goa
2002–03ImphalManipur2–1 (a.s.d.e.t.)Kerala
2004–05DelhiKerala3–2Punjab
2005–06KochiGoa3–1 (a.e.t.)Maharashtra
2006–07GurgaonPunjab0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–3 p)West Bengal
2007–08SrinagarPunjab1–0Services
2008–09ChennaiGoa0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p)West Bengal
2009–10KolkataWest Bengal2–1Punjab
2010–11AssamWest Bengal2–1Manipur
2011–12OdishaServices3–2Tamil Nadu
2012–13KochiServices0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)Kerala
2013–14SiliguriMizoram3–0Railways
2014–15LudhianaServices0–0 (5–4 p)Punjab
2015–16NagpurServices2–1Maharashtra
2016–17GoaWest Bengal1–0Goa
2017–18KolkataKerala2–2 (4–2 p)West Bengal
2018–19LudhianaServices1–0Punjab
2021–22MalappuramKerala1–1 (5–4 p)West Bengal
2022–23Saudi Arabia RiyadhKarnataka3–2Meghalaya

Final appearances
TeamWinsRunners-upLast win
Bengal / West Bengal32142016–17
Punjab882007–08
Kerala782021–22
Services652018–19
Goa582008–09
Mysore / Karnataka552022–23
Bombay / Maharashtra4121999–00
Railways361966–67
Hyderabad221957–58
Andhra Pradesh111965–66
Delhi111944–45
Manipur112002–03
Mizoram102013–14
Madras / Tamil Nadu02–
Meghalaya01–

See also

References
  1. "Hero Senior NFC". www.the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  2. Kapadia, Novy (27 May 2012). "Memorable moments in the Santosh Trophy". www.sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  3. Anand, Vijay (16 March 2014). "The history of Santosh Trophy". SportsKeeda. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  4. "The rise and fall of the Santosh Trophy". Indian Express. 12 March 2014. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  5. "70th Santosh Trophy". The Indian Football Live. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  6. 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)
  7. Maharaja of Santosh dead, Indian Express, 1 April 1939, p. 15
  8. "List of Winners/Runners-Up of the Santosh Trophy". IndianFootball.de. Archived from the original on 13 March 2019.
  9. Mukherjee, Sayan (27 September 2022). "Six foreigners recommended for matchday squads as I-League returns on Oct 29". www.news9live.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  10. 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.
  11. "AIFF mulling over Santosh Trophy's future". News 18. 17 September 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. "Santosh Trophy Winners". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2013.

Further reading
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