The historic Santosh Trophy tournament will now be known as the FIFA Santosh Trophy from the upcoming season and the final will be played in Arunachal Pradesh, as confirmed by the AIFF.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino is also expected to attend the finals of the competition in early March, as revealed by AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey himself. The tournament was held in Saudi Arabia last year, to the dismay of local fans, and will now return to India with the backing of the global governing body of football.
FIFA Santosh Trophy rename confirmed alongside academy project
“I am happy to announce that after having discussions with FIFA, the Santosh Trophy will now be known as the FIFA Santosh Trophy. This entails that a team of FIFA officials will come to have a meeting with Arunachal Pradesh officials on the conduct of the tournament,” explained Kalyan Chaubey.
“We also expect the FIFA President (Mr Gianni Infantino) to be present for the final on March 9 or 10,” he said.
The tournament has lost its significance over the last decade in spite of being one of the most prominent competitions in the country. Much like the revival of the Durand Cup, we can expect the same to come out of AIFF’s collaboration with FIFA.
Chaubey also announced plans to set up several academies across the country to foster the development of youngsters at the grassroot level alongside a dedicated goalkeeper academy.
