The 2021–22 Santosh Trophy is the 75th edition of the

Santosh Trophy The Santosh Trophy, officially known as Hero Senior Men's National Football Championship due to sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp, is a state football leagues in India, state-level association football, football competition contested by the L ...

, the premier competition in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

for teams representing their regional and state football associations. The last season was cancelled due to

COVID-19 pandemic in India The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). As of , according to Indian government figures, India has the second-highest n ...

. The main round of the tournament was held in

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarter ...

, and was contested by 10 teams divided into two groups.

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

and

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...

from Group A and

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a States and territories of India, state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It ...

and

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...

from Group B reached the semi-finals, and eventually Kerala and West Bengal faced in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

. Kerala won their seventh title after defeating West Bengal in the penaties.

Qualification

The zonal qualifiers were contested by 37 teams representing the states and the union territories of India, including one representing the

Indian Armed Forces The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by ...

. The teams were drawn into five zones (North, East, North-East, South and West) of two groups each. Only 2 teams (1 from each group) from each zone could qualify for the final round.

North

East

North-East

South

West

Draw

The official draw for the 75th edition of Santosh Trophy was held on January 6, 2022 at 15:00 IST in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

with former India defender

Gouramangi Singh Gouramangi Singh Moirangthem (born 25 January 1986) is an Indian former professional footballer. He is currently the assistant coach of Indian Super League club Goa. Club career A product of the Tata Football Academy, he has plied his tra ...

assisting in the process. Ten teams who came through the qualifiers were drawn into two groups of five each for the main event beginning from April 16. On March 31 the host of the event was announced to be

, with the matches being held at Kottappadi Stadium and Payyanad Stadium.

Group stage

Group A

Group B

Knockout stage

Bracket

Semi-finals

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Final

Statistics

Top goalscorer

Prize money

Awards

References

External links

Santosh Trophy on the All India Football Federation website
. {{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 Santosh Trophy Football in India 2021–22 Santosh Trophy 2021–22 in Indian football leagues