The Qutub Minar had stood tall in Delhi’s maiden Santosh Trophy victory, way back in 1945. Luring visitors Bengal into a city-trip on the eve of the match, the Delhi team had encouraged their rivals to go climbing the 365 stairs of the historical monument, open to the public then. Next day, either the dizziness, or the sheer exhaustion of the climb flattened Bengal’s playing XI, as hosts Delhi combined home advantage with greater guile, to knock off the favourites 2-0 in the final and avenge their loss of two years ago.

The 62nd edition of the Santosh Trophy which commences in Kashmir from May 25, might not have such trickery-tales to narrate. For winning this tournament doesn’t mean much now. It was perhaps India’s most prestigious tournament when first held in 1941 in Bengal. But with the passage of time, the glory has steadily faded. The national tournament is now more or less like a state league, with minimal crowd turn-outs, and players not too keen on participating either. Donated by the Indian Football Association (IFA), the parent body of Bengal football, in the memory of late Maharaja Sir Manmatha Nath Roy Chowdhary of Santosh (now in Bangladesh), the national championship started as an annual football fixture contested by states and government institutions. On numerous occasions, it was not held due to lack of funds and 2007 also saw a complete cancellation due to terrorism in the valley of Kashmir.

Clubs bigger than states

Jagdish Malhotra, who was part of the Delhi team when it was last held in Kashmir in 1978-79, has happier memories. “There was a time when players were proud to represent their states. Now with the professional league coming into the country, they don’t want to turn out in state colours. When we represented the state, the public recognised us if we walked on the streets. I remember people called out to us by our names and knew us from our jersey numbers. But now if you ask Bhutia (Baichung) or Chettri (Sunil) to roam the streets, how many would recognise them?” he asks.

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