Santosh Trophy kicks off in Kerala today

In Kerala, the 75th edition of the Santosh Trophy kicks off at the football-crazy Malappuram this morning. Bengal, who won the trophy 32 times in the past, takes on Punjab at the Kottapady stadium in the opening match. In the second match to be played at the Payyanad Stadium this evening, hosts Kerala will take on Rajasthan.

10 teams will be vying for the coveted title in the final



round of the tourney which begins today. Kerala, Rajasthan, Bengal, Punjab and Meghalaya are in Group A, while defending champion Services, Karnataka, Manipur, Gujarat and Odisha make up Group B. Top two teams from each group will proceed to the semifinals which will be played on the 28th and 29th of this month. The final is slated to take place on May 2.