 | |
| Organising body | AIFF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1941 |
| Region | India |
| Number of teams |
|
| Related competitions | National Games |
| International cup(s) | Asian Champion Club Tournament (1967–70) |
| Current champions | Services (7th title) |
| Most successful team(s) | West Bengal (32 titles) |
| Television broadcasters | FIFA+ SportsKPI (YouTube) |
| Website | Senior 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 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]
- ^ "Hero Senior NFC". the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Anand, Vijay (16 March 2014). "The history of Santosh Trophy". SportsKeeda. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "70th Santosh Trophy". The Indian Football Live. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ 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) - ^ Maharaja of Santosh dead Archived 24 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Indian Express, 1 April 1939, p. 15
- ^ a b "List of Winners/Runners-Up of the Santosh Trophy". IndianFootball.de. Archived from the original on 13 March 2019.
- ^ 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.