Jeddah: Expats who love football in Saudi Arabia are getting an opportunity to watch the Santosh Trophy match in person. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) is considering holding the Santosh Trophy knockout matches in Saudi Arabia early next year. The tournament will be held in Riyadh and Jeddah in February next year.
As an initial step, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) signed an MoU with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) in Dammam to explore the possibilities in this regard. AIFF said in a statement that the MoU was signed on Thursday in the presence of AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey, Secretary General Shaji Prabhakaran, Saudi Arabian FF President Yasser Al Mishal and General Secretary Ibrahim Al Qasim. The agreement includes providing technical support, organizing and hosting regular men’s and women’s youth matches and exchange of football administration experts. In a statement, AIFF said that the selection of Saudi cities to host the final stage of the Santosh Trophy is to encourage Indian players to dream big, connect the Indian community in Saudi Arabia with Indian football and create a win-win situation for both federations.
“This is a remarkable event for Indian football. Our aim is to create a new platform for Indian football and spread it among Indian fans worldwide. We would like to thank the Saudi Arabian Football Federation for their active cooperation in achieving our goal,” said AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey. There will be a total of 12 teams including 10 other state teams who will qualify along with Services and Railways in the final round of the Santosh Trophy. Other information related to the tournament will come out in the coming days.