33rd Santosh Trophy title for Bengal as they beat Kerala in the final

The most successful team in the history of the Santosh Trophy, West Bengal added one more to its collection by defeating Kerala in the final of the 78th edition of the Santosh Trophy. It was the 33rd Santosh Trophy for the Bengal team.

The final of the 78th edition of the Santosh Trophy 2024-25 was played at the GMC Balayogi Stadium in Hyderabad, Telangana on 31st December 2024.

Santosh Trophy is a premier domestic state-level football tournament for men in India organised by the All India Football Federation.

33rd Title for West Bengal 

The final at Hyderabad was the 47th final appearance for West Bengal in the Santosh Trophy while Kerala was appearing for the 16th time. 

West Bengal last won the trophy in 2016-17 and Kerala in 2021-22.

At the end of the regulation 90 minutes both the teams were levelled at 0-0 goals. In the extra time, Robi Hansda scored the only goal of the match in the 4th minute of the extra time to hand over the 33rd title for West Bengal.

Award winners:

• Winners - West Bengal, Santosh Trophy, and a cash prize of Rs 5 Lakhs.
• Runners Up - Kerala, Kamla Gupta Trophy, and a cash prize of Rs 3 lakhs.
• Peter Thangaraj Player of the Championship - Robi Hansda of West Bengal.
• Tulsidas Balaram Player of the Final Match - Robi Hansda of West Bengal.

About 78th Santosh Trophy 2024-25

The 78th edition of the Santosh trophy was organised by the All India Football Federation across the country. The final round of the Santosh Trophy was hosted by the Telangana Football Association from 14 -31 December 2024 in Hyderabad.

31 teams participated in the tournament and played in the Group stage. The Group stage matches were held in different parts of the country while the final round was held in Hyderabad.

12 teams qualified from the group stage to the final round. The 12 teams were grouped into A and B Groups in the final round. 

• Group A: West Bengal, Manipur,, Services, Jammu & Kashmir, Telangana, and Rajasthan.
• Group B: Goa, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Meghalaya and Odisha.

The top four teams from each group qualified for the quarterfinals. 

In the semifinal, West Bengal defeated the defending champion Services 4-2 while Kerala defeated Manipur 5-1.

About the Santosh Trophy 

The Santosh Trophy is a state-level tournament for the men.

It was started by the Indian Football Federation in 1941 and is now managed by its successor All India Football Federation (AIFF). 

The states, Union Territories of India, Services(combined team of Army, Navy, and Air Force,) and Railways compete in the Santosh Trophy.

The first edition was won by Bengal in 1941-42 defeating Delhi.

• West Bengal is the most successful team in the tournament with 33 titles.
• Punjab is second with 8 title wins. 
• Kerala and Services share the third spot with seven title wins each.

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