Day before Santosh Trophy kicks off, India captain Sunil Chhetri says tournament still relevant

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Bengaluru, January 16: Obituaries for the Santosh Trophy have already been written. The tournament, once the pinnacle of Indian football, is struggling to find its relevance in a packed domestic calendar which has the Indian Super League and I-League running for five months. Yet, as Bengaluru prepares to host the South Zone Qualifying Round, Bengaluru FC's captain Sunil Chhetri feels the ignored tournament needs a boost.

"When I was younger, the Santosh Trophy was huge," Chhetri, who has captained Delhi in the same tournament before, told reporters on Tuesday (January 16). "Before the I-League became the I-League, before there were more top tier matches for the players, Santosh Trophy was huge. During my time, I was told that national selectors used to watch the Santosh Trophy to select players. The competition is not bad, even though the top tier players are not playing. But we don't watch the matches and it's such a huge, old tournament of ours. I just hope it gets its due when it comes to being seen. Once the matches are seen and talked about, the whole environment of the tournament imrpoves."

Squads of the Santosh Trophy teams are usually filled with players knocking on the doors of the I-League and ISL. The All India Football Federation also introduced a rule mandating five U-21 players and three in the Playing XI for each team. Those already playing the ISL and I-League cannot devote time for the Santosh Trophy and Chhetri feels it's an opportunity for others to get noticed.

"The tournament has lost its sheen because the top players do not play," Chhetri said. "It's not because they don't want to play, but because there are so many games. For all the players not in the top tier, this tournament is a great opportunity to be seen. Because they don't get enough matches. That's why the federation should give publicity to this tournament. It should be seen by a lot of people so that everyone is there - the coaches, the scouts, the clubs.

"If there's a match tomorrow and you tell a player that 10 people are going to come, he will say 'OK'. If you say 30,000 are coming, his mentality changes. In that context I just hope we take care of the tournament so that we can keep it alive in a better way. It shouldn't be like 'Santosh Trophy ho raha hain. Bhej do.'"

Chhetri feels a single league will make things easier for the AIFF to plan its annual tournaments like the Santosh Trophy and Durand Cup. He pointed out that it's difficult for the I-League and ISL players to compete in both the leagues and still turn out for the Santosh Trophy.

"If you talk about Udanta Singh (of Bengaluru FC)... he's playing 20-26 games in ISL, the national team, and then the AFC Cup. Then if you add the Fed Cup, you're talking about a lot of games. And then in between if you ask him to play Santosh Trophy, I don't think it's feasible. But there are so many talented players who don't get enough matches and that's where Santosh Trophy comes in.

"But if we have one league and more teams in the league with more games, it's easy to plan. If the top league of our country (whichever it is) has 30 games, then you can plan. If you put in different tournaments, ISL with 16 games, Fed Cup with 8, Santosh Trophy with 4, Durand Cup with 6, then it becomes difficult to plan. If you have a big league and national duty and then AFC, then it becomes easy to plan."

Santosh Trophy South Zone Qualifiers in a glance:

Karnataka is hosting the regional leg for the first time and seven teams will feature in the event. The winners of each group will advance to the final round of the Santosh Trophy.

Karnataka is pooled in Group A alongside Telangana, Puducherry and Services. Group B comprises Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

Karnataka play the first match of the tournament against Telangana at 1.15 pm on Wednesday (January 17).