Riyadh prepares to host final stages of Indian football’s historic Santosh Trophy

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is set to host the 2022-23 semifinals and final of the Hero Santosh Trophy, India’s historic football championship — in Riyadh on March 1 and March 4. The Kingdom becomes the first overseas country to stage the knockout stages of the competition since its inception in 1941.

The hosting of the 76th trophy event forms part of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) and All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) strong relationship across all areas of the game. The relationship was solidified in October last year with the signing of a memorandum of understanding that covers differnt areas of the game, from youth development to coaching to women’s football.

King Fahd International Stadium will host the four matches, giving the opportunity for football fans and India’s large expatriate population in Riyadh to witness history. The 68,000-capacity venue has been home to major events on the international football calendar since the start of year — such as the Spanish Super Cup between Real Madrid, Barcelona, Real Betis and Valencia, and the Italian Super Cup contested by AC Milan and Inter Milan.

The preliminary stage of the 2022-23 season welcomed 36 states and union territories into six different groups. The final round hosted 12 teams into two groups with the top two teams from each group (Punjab and Services) and the runners-up (Karnataka and Meghalaya) qualifying for the final stages in Saudi Arabia.

Once considered the pinnacle of Indian football, the Santosh Trophy gathered the best players across the country in a contest between all Indian states and the Services and Railways government agencies. Champions of the first event, Bengal, have dominated the competition and hold the record for the