Santosh Trophy knock-out stage set to be held in Saudi Arabia in February next year

In an unprecedented move, All India Football Federation (AIFF) is planning to hold kck-out sts of Santosh Trophy National Championships in Saudi Arabia early next year. AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey and Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ir Saudi Arabian counterparts to "study possibility to st final sts of Santosh Trophy" in West Asian country in February 2023".

" idea is to host kckout phase of Santosh Trophy in select cities of Saudi to encour State level players to dream big and also to connect large Indian community in Saudi with Indian football and create a win-win situation for both Federations," AIFF said in a release.

" agreement comes as part of efforts of SAFF and AIFF t only to enhance cooperation among key strategic partners in Asia, but also to offer opportunity to consolidate stronger bonds through football and culture between large Indian Communities based in Saudi Arabia and Indian football." Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) President Yasser Al-Mishal and General Secretary Ibrahim Al Kassim signed agreement from side of West Asian country. agreement was signed at Saudi Arabian city of Dammam.

" agreement will allow a wide range of activations, including provision of techlogical support, organization and hosting of youth competitions for both men and women on a regular basis, as well as exchange of football and governance experts." AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey said: “It is a remarkable development for Indian football. Our aim is to create a new platform for Indian football and spre it among Indian fans all across world. My sincere thank to SAFF for ir active cooperation in realising our goal.” AIFF General Secretary Shaji Prabhakaran said: “It is an out of box idea that I am sure will help Indian football to create a niche for itself among its loyal fans, who erly follow Indian football from wherever y are.

"Our aim is to take Indian football forward and explore all possibilities. This move, we are confident, will inspire players from across nation to showcase ir performance in front of bigger audience.”