Santosh Trophy to begin in Greater Noida from Monday

Barring the first and the last day, when only one match will played, two matches will be held every day from January 16-19.

For the next six days, football lovers will get an opportunity to see emerging players from various states show their skill with the ball, eyeing the glorious Santosh Trophy (north zone).

As many as eight states will be participating in the 72nd Santosh Trophy tournament (north zone) on the campus of Sharda University in Greater Noida from Monday. (Sunil Ghosh/HT PHOTO)

As many as eight states will be participating in the 72nd Santosh Trophy tournament (north zone) on the campus of Sharda University in Greater Noida from Monday. The tournament will see participation of football teams of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh and Uttarakhand from January 15-20.

The inaugural match of the tournament will be played on Monday between Uttarakhand and Chandigarh, for which a footfall of 2,000 people is expected. The tournament is being organised by Gautam Budh Nagar Football Association in collaboration with All India Football Federation and Uttar Pradesh Football Sangh. More than 120 players, coaches, team managers and referees have already reached Greater Noida and are busy in their training sessions.

Mohammad Aarif Najmi, an official of UP Football Sangh said, “The eight teams will be divided into two pools of four teams each. Each team will play three matches in the league round and based on their points, the team with highest points in each pool will be selected for the finals, which will be played on January 20. Three points are rewarded if a team wins a match and one point is given to each team in case of a draw.”