2021–22 Santosh Trophy

The 2021–22 Santosh Trophy was the 75th edition of the Santosh Trophy, the premier competition in India for teams representing their regional and state football associations.^[1] The last season was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in India.

2021–22 Santosh Trophy

Senior Men's National Football Championship
Tournament details
Country	India
Venue(s)	Manjeri, Malappuram, Kerala
Dates	Qualifiers: 21 November – 5 December 2021 Main: 16 April – 2 May 2022
Teams	Qualifiers: 37 Main: 10
Final positions
Champions	Kerala (7th title)
Runners-up	West Bengal
Tournament statistics
Matches played	73
Goals scored	226 (3.1 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Jesin TK (Kerala) (9 goals)
Awards
Best player	Jijo Joseph (Kerala)
Best goalkeeper	Priyant Singh (West Bengal)
← 2018–19 2019–20 2022–23 →

The main round of the tournament was held in Manjeri, and was contested by 10 teams divided into two groups.^[2][3] Kerala and West Bengal from Group A and Manipur and Karnataka from Group B reached the semi-finals, and eventually Kerala and West Bengal faced in the final. Kerala won their seventh title after defeating West Bengal in the penalties.

Qualification

Main article: 2021–22 Santosh Trophy qualification

The zonal qualifiers were contested by 37 teams representing the states and the union territories of India, including one representing the Indian Armed Forces. The teams were drawn into five zones (North, East, North-East, South and West) of two groups each. Only 2 teams (1 from each group) from each zone could qualify for the final round.

North

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		SE	CH	UP	JK	HP
1	Services	4	4	0	0	10	0	+10	12	Final Round		—	—	2–0	—	3–0
2	Chandigarh (H)	4	1	2	1	3	3	0	5			0–2	—	0–0	—	—
3	Uttar Pradesh	4	1	2	1	2	3	−1	5			—	—	—	1–1	1–0
4	Jammu and Kashmir	4	1	2	1	5	7	−2	5			0–3	1–1	—	—	—
5	Himachal Pradesh	4	0	0	4	2	9	−7	0			—	0–2	—	2–3	—

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		PU	DE	HA	UT
1	Punjab	3	3	0	0	14	0	+14	9	Final Round		—	1–0	2–0	—
2	Delhi (H)	3	2	0	1	15	2	+13	6			—	—	—	11–1
3	Haryana	3	1	0	2	6	6	0	3			—	0–4	—	6–0
4	Uttarakhand	3	0	0	3	1	28	−27	0			0–11	—	—	—

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

East

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		OD	JH	BH
1	Odisha (H)	2	1	1	0	6	1	+5	4	Final Round		—	—	5–0
2	Jharkhand	2	1	1	0	3	1	+2	4			1–1	—	—
3	Bihar	2	0	0	2	0	7	−7	0			—	0–2	—

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		WB	SK	CG
1	West Bengal (H)	2	2	0	0	3	0	+3	6	Final Round		—	0–1	—
2	Sikkim	2	1	0	1	2	1	+1	3			—	—	2–0
3	Chhattisgarh	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0			0–2	—	—

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

North-East

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		ME	AP	AS
1	Meghalaya (H)	2	2	0	0	8	2	+6	6	Final Round		—	2–0	—
2	Arunachal Pradesh	2	0	1	1	0	2	−2	1			—	—	0–0
3	Assam	2	0	1	1	2	6	−4	1			2–6	—	—

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		MA	MZ	NA	TR
1	Manipur (H)	3	2	0	1	4	2	+2	6	Final Round		—	1–0	3–0	0–2
2	Mizoram	3	2	0	1	2	1	+1	6			—	—	1–0	1–0
3	Nagaland	3	1	0	2	6	4	+2	3			—	—	—	—
4	Tripura	3	1	0	2	2	7	−5	3			—	—	0–6	—

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

South

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		KA	TN	TL	AP
1	Karnataka (H)	3	3	0	0	7	0	+7	9	Final Round		—	4–0	—	1–0
2	Tamil Nadu	3	2	0	1	2	4	−2	6			—	—	—	1–0
3	Telangana	3	1	0	2	4	3	+1	3			0–2	0–1	—	4–0
4	Andhra Pradesh	3	0	0	3	0	6	−6	0			—	—	—	—

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		KE	PO	LK	AN
1	Kerala (H)	3	3	0	0	18	1	+17	9	Final Round		—	4–1	5–0	—
2	Pondicherry	3	1	1	1	10	5	+5	4			—	—	—	8–0
3	Lakshadweep	3	1	1	1	6	7	−1	4			—	1–1	—	—
4	Andaman and Nicobar	3	0	0	3	1	22	−21	0			0–9	—	1–5	—

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

West

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		GJ	GO	DN	DD
1	Gujarat (H)	3	2	1	0	3	1	+2	7	Final Round		—	—	0–0	2–1
2	Goa	3	2	0	1	7	1	+6	6			0–1	—	5–0	2–0
3	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	3	1	1	1	1	5	−4	4			—	—	—	—
4	Daman and Diu	3	0	0	3	1	5	−4	0			—	—	0–1	—

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		RJ	MH	MP
1	Rajasthan (H)	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	4	Final Round		—	—	—
2	Maharashtra	2	1	0	1	3	1	+2	3			0–1	—	—
3	Madhya Pradesh	2	0	1	1	2	5	−3	1			2–2	0–3	—

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Draw

The official draw for the 75th edition of Santosh Trophy was held on 6 January 2022 at 15:00 IST in New Delhi with former India defender Gouramangi Singh assisting in the process.^[4] Ten teams who came through the qualifiers were drawn into two groups of five each for the main event beginning from 16 April. On 31 March the host of the event was announced to be Malappuram, Kerala, with the matches being held at Kottappadi Stadium and Payyanad Stadium.^[5]

Group stage

Main article: 2021–22 Santosh Trophy group stage

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		KL	WB	PN	ME	RA
1	Kerala (H)	4	3	1	0	11	3	+8	10	Semi-finals		—	2–0	—	—	5–0
2	West Bengal	4	3	0	1	8	5	+3	9			—	—	1–0	4–3	—
3	Punjab	4	2	0	2	6	3	+3	6			1–2	—	—	—	4–0
4	Meghalaya	4	1	1	2	8	9	−1	4			2–2	—	0–1	—	—
5	Rajasthan	4	0	0	4	2	15	−13	0			—	0–3	—	2–3	—

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		MN	KA	OD	SE	GJ
1	Manipur	4	3	0	1	8	1	+7	9	Semi-finals		—	—	0–1	3–0	—
2	Karnataka	4	2	1	1	8	6	+2	7			0–3	—	—	1–0	—
3	Odisha	4	2	1	1	7	7	0	7			—	3–3	—	—	3–2
4	Services	4	2	0	2	5	5	0	6			—	—	2–0	—	3–1
5	Gujarat	4	0	0	4	3	12	−9	0			0–2	0–4	—	—	—

Source: AIFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots

Knockout stage

Bracket

	Semi-finals				Final
	28 April 2022
	Kerala	7
					2 May 2022
	Karnataka	3
					Kerala (p)	1 (5)
	29 April 2022
					West Bengal	1 (4)
	West Bengal	3
	Manipur	0

Semi-finals

28 April 2022

20:00 IST

Kerala	7–3	Karnataka
Jesin TK 35', 42', 45', 56', 74' Shigil 45+1' Arjun Jayaraj 61'	Report	Sudheer Kotikela 25' Kamalesh P 54' Solaimalai N 72'

Manjeri Payyanad Stadium

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29 April 2022

20:00 IST

West Bengal	3–0	Manipur
Sujit Singh 2' Md Fardin Ali Molla 7' Dilip Oran 74'	Report

Manjeri Payyanad Stadium

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Final

2 May 2022

20:00 IST

Kerala	1–1 (a.e.t.)	West Bengal
Safnad 116'	Report	Dilip Orawn 97'
Penalties
Sanju G. Bibin Ajayan Jijo Joseph Jesin TK Faslurahman Methukayil	5–4	Dilip Orawn Sajal Bag Bablu Oran Tanmoy Ghosh Priyant Singh

Manjeri Payyanad Stadium

Referee: Umesh Bora (India)

Statistics

Top goalscorer

Rank	Player	Team	Goal(s)
1	Jesin TK	Kerala	9
2	Sudheer Kotikela	Karnataka	8
3	Md. Fardin Ali Molla	West Bengal	6
	Amarpreet Singh	Punjab
5	Chandra Muduli	Odisha	5
Source: AIFF

Prize money

Title	Amount
Hero of the tournament	₹25,000
Top scorer	₹25,000
Top goalkeeper	₹25,000
Champion	₹5,00,000
Runner-up	₹3,00,000

Awards

Award	Player	Team
Top Scorer of the Championship	Jesin TK	Kerala
Best Goalkeeper of the Championship	Priyant Singh	West Bengal
Hero of the Championship	Jijo Joseph	Kerala