Santosh Trophy is an Indian domestic football competition contested by the regional state associations and government institutions under the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
Santosh Trophy, the Hero Senior National Football Championship is held every year since it was founded in 1941. The tournament, however, was not held in 2019-20 and 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and finally it returned for Santosh Trophy 2022 in Kerala.
The tournament features 37 teams that are divided into five zones - North, South, East, West and North East, who go through qualifiers to progress to the main round, which features group and knock-out rounds.
In the 75 editions held till 2022, West Bengal is the most successful side with 32 wins and 14 runners up finishes for a total of 46 final appearances. The next best side in Santosh Trophy is Punjab, who have made a total of 16 final appearances and won the title 8 times.
Kerala and Services are the next best teams with 7 and 6 title wins respectively, while Goa (5), Maharashtra (4), Karnataka (4), Railways (3) and Andra Pradesh (3) have also won the title multiple times. Delhi, Manipur and Mizoram have won the title once so far.
Also, in the 1982-83 edition, the trophy was shared by West Bengal and Goa after the match ended 0-0 in regulation time as well as extra time.
Last top 10 winners of the Santosh Trophy:
YEAR | WINNER | FINALIST | SCORE-LINE |
2010-11 | West Bengal | Manipur | 2-1 |
2011-12 | Services | Tamil Nadu | 3-2 |
2012-13 | Services | Kerala | 4-3 (P) |
2013-14 | Mizoram | Railways | 3-0 |
2014-15 | Services | Punjab | 5-4 (P) |
2015-16 | Services | Maharashtra | 2-1 |
2016-17 | West Bengal | Goa | 1-0 |
2017-18 | Kerala | West Bengal | 4-2 (P) |
2018-19 | Services | Punjab | 1-0 |
2021-22 | Kerala | West Bengal | 5-4 (P) |