Santosh Trophy Finals: AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey faces backlash over Santosh Trophy Venue,- Check out

Santosh Trophy Finals: Santosh Trophy Venue: Kalyan Chaubey, the president of the All Indian Football Federation (AIFF), has come under heavy fire for his remarks regarding the attendance at the Santosh trophy Semifinals in Saudi Arabia before to the Finals. According to AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, a major chunk of the Indian people in Saudi Arabia did not show up in significant numbers to the game since either Kerala or Bengal were not included in the Santosh Trophy semifinals. Former football players Mehtab Hossain and Bhaichung Bhutia, though, had already condemned the decision. Follow Santosh Trophy and Indian Football Team LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN

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Santosh Trophy Finals: AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey faces BACKLASH over Santosh Trophy Venue, ex Indian Footballers Bhaichung Bhutia, Mehtab Hossain WEIGH in – Check Out

Former India footballer Mehtab Hossain believed that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) should have held the knockout games in the nation in front of the supporters rather than holding the semifinals and final of the 76th Santosh Trophy — the national football championship — in Saudi Arabia.

Mehtab said, “The AIFF may be trying to motivate the players and enhance the importance of Santosh Trophy by hosting the knockout matches in Riyadh. But I feel the matches should have been hosted somewhere in India where people would have thronged the stadium to watch live action, for example in Kerala. Nothing can motivate the players more than playing in front of fans in a packed stadium, which is unlikely to happen in Saudi Arabia.”

🗣️ Kalyan Chaubey: « “If these football fans who lived in Saudi turned up it would have helped in generating revenue.

That is the reason the stadium (60K capacity) was allocated. But it did not happen in a way we wanted to, because Kerala has not qualified.” » 🇮🇳🧐

[Via: PTI]

— Sevens Football (@sevensftbl) March 1, 2023

Santosh Trophy Finals: AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey faces BACKLASH over Santosh Trophy Venue, ex Indian Footballers Bhaichung Bhutia, Mehtab Hossain WEIGH in – Check Out

Bhanichung Bhutia on the other hand, requested a probe on the decision of shifting the venue. He wanted an investigation since the matter was discussed with thw Executive committee.

“I would want AFC (Asian Football Confederation), FIFA and the government of India’s sports ministry to investigate…There is something fishy about it,”

Santosh Trophy Finals: AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey faces BACKLASH over Santosh Trophy Venue, ex Indian Footballers Bhaichung Bhutia, Mehtab Hossain WEIGH in – Check Out

However, as predicted the semifinal between Nagaland and Punjab hardly attracted any crowd at the 60,000-seater stadium. The Malappuram District Sports Complex Stadium was about 27000 full before the Santosh Trophy National Football Championship final last year even began. By defeating Bengal in a penalty shootout, Kerala won the championship for the seventh time. The teams were tied 1-1 at the end of extra time after normal time ended without a goal.

“I was hoping Kerala or Bengal qualify for the semifinals. If they had qualified, maybe a lot of people from Kerala would have come to watch the matches. If these football fans who lived in Saudi Arabia turned up, it would have helped in generating revenue. It would be good both for the Saudi federation and for India also,” Chaubey said.

“That is the reason the stadium (King Fahd International Stadium with above 60,000 capacity) was allocated. But it did not happen in the way we wanted it to, because Kerala has not qualified.” Kerala, the last edition’s champions, had finished third in Group A in the second round of the tournament held in Bhubaneswar, thereby missing out on the semifinals.”

The Santosh Trophy final between Meghalaya and four-time champions Karnataka will take place at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyad, Saudi Arabia. It was Karnataka’s chance to establish itself as the competition as Meghalaya overcame eight-time champions Punjab to go to the final. In the second semi-final, Karnataka played courageous football against strong opponents to go to the championship game.