Officially known as the Hero Senior Men’s National Football Championship, the team of Bengal has won the tournament the maximum number of times since 1941
At the moment, the top-tier domestic football league in India is the Indian Super League (ISL). However, from 1941 to 1996, it was the Santosh Trophy which is now officially known as the Hero Senior Men’s National Football Championship. The Santosh Trophy is one of the oldest and most prestigious football tournaments in India.
Since the tournament’s inception, state football clubs recognized by the All India Football Federation take part in the Santosh Trophy. As of 2022, the tournament is mostly played by the youth sides of the I-League, ISL and other young players for game time, but it continues to be a crucial part of the Indian footballing circuit. Therefore, in the following paragraphs, we have listed the clubs with the maximum Santosh Trophies.
West Bengal Football Team
Known as the powerhouse of Indian football, the West Bengal football team has won the maximum number of Santosh Trophies, i.e., 32 times. Not to forget, since 1941, the team has played 45 finals; the maximum for any Indian football team. However, since 2000, the team secured only three trophies in 2010, 2011 and 2017. Notable players of the team were Chuni Goswami, Pugsley and Shabbir Ali.
Punjab Football Team
Way behind the West Bengal football team is the team of Punjab, with eight trophies only. Apart from winning eight times, Punjab also finished as the runner-up on eight occasions. Their last win arrived in 2008, whereas their last runner-up finish was in 2019. Apart from the Santosh Trophy, the team secured many titles in the B.C. Roy Trophy tournament and the Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy tournament.
Kerala Football Team
The present champion of the Santosh Trophy is the Kerala football team. In the 2022 edition, the team from Kerala defeated West Bengal on penalties. Throughout the competition, the team did not lose a single match. So far, the Kerala football team has seven Santosh Trophies along with 15 appearances in the finale.
Services Football team
The Services football team is a special football team because it represents the Indian Armed Forces/Defence Forces of the nation. So far, the team has appeared in 10 Santosh Trophy finals and won six of them. Their first win was in 1961 against Bengal, whereas their last win was against Punjab in 2019.
