The 2023–24 Santosh Trophy was the 77th edition of the Santosh Trophy, the premier competition in India for senior men's football teams representing their respective states/union territories and government institutions.
This edition onwards the tournament was to be held under the name of FIFA Santosh Trophy, but FIFA pulled out due to the choice of venue and thus likely to associate from the next season.
Venues The All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced in September 2023 that the group stage matches would begin the following month and would be played in six venues. The venues and the corresponding groups that would play there were named. Hosts Arunachal Pradesh were exempted from playing the group stage fixtures. For the final round, Arunachal Pradesh was named the host, the first time that a Northeast Indian State would host in the tournament's history.
GroupCityStadiumCapacityGroup ABenaulimSAG Benaulim Football Ground–Group BBangaPT Mehnga Singh Stadium1,500Group CNoidaVijay Singh Pathik Stadium 8,000Bennett University Ground–Group DKokrajharSAI STC10,000 KDSA Ground–Group EPhagwaraSri Hargobind Stadium2,000AmritsarGNDU Sports Complex–Group FKolhapurChhatrapati Shahu Stadium18,000Final roundYupiaGolden Jubilee Stadium 15,000Knockouts
Draws The draw for the group stage fixtures was held at the Football House in New Delhi on 26 July 2023. 38 teams entered the competition; Karnataka and Meghalaya, the finalists of the previous edition, received direct entry to the final round. Hosts Arunachal Pradesh were placed in Group A of the final round. The remaining 35 teams were divided into one group of five teams and five groups of six teams each. It was announced that the winners of each group and four best second-placed teams, along with finalists from the previous edition would make the final round.
The draw for the final round was held on 30 November 2023.
Group stage Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Group F
Ranking of second-placed teams
Final round
Karnataka directly qualified for final round as defending champions. Meghalaya directly qualified for final round as runners up of previous edition. Arunachal Pradesh directly qualified for final round as hosts.
Group A
Group B
Knockout stage
Bracket
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals Rahul Ramakrishnan and substitute Bikash Thapa scored one goal each in either half for the dominant Services, while Malsawmfela reduced the lead in injury time for Mizoram through a direct free kick goal. Services made the final of the competition for the 12th time. In the second semifinal, Ngangbam Pacha Singh scored for Manipur from 30 yards, with substitute Necio Fernandes equalising in the injury time with a bicycle kick off Joshua D’Silva. Fernandes scored again, the winner, in extra time, taking his team to the final, for their 14th time.
Final
Statistics RankPlayerTeamGoal(s)1Phijam Sanathoi MeeteiManipur112Samir MurmuServices103Dipu MirdhaAssam94LalkhawpuimawiaMizoram8Wangkheimayum Sadananda SinghManipurSource: AIFF
Awards The following awards were given out at the end of the tournament: the top scorer, Best Goalkeeper, Player of the Tournament and Fair Play Award.
AwardPlayerTeamTop ScorerPhijam Sanathoi MeiteiManipurBest GoalkeeperSayad bin Abdul KadirServicesPlayer of the TournamentSamir MurmuServicesFair Play Award—Jharkhand
Broadcasting TerritoryBroadcaster(s)Ref.YouTubeFIFA+ Global
References