The Hindu : Sport / Football : Haryana to host Santosh Trophy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Aug 12, 2006

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Haryana to host Santosh Trophy

New Delhi: The Santosh Trophy has been shifted from Jammu and Kashmir to Haryana. The tournament will be held at Gurgaon and Faridabad from Sept. 14.

The change was necessitated following objections from Bengal and Goa regarding Srinagar as the venue. The two associations had expressed apprehensions on the security front and urged the All India Football Federation (AIFF) for the change in the interest of the players. The Jammu and Kashmir Government had given assurances to the AIFF that comprehensive security would be provided. But the AIFF was not able to convince Bengal and Goa.

The reason given for change in venue is that the infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir was not complete to hold the premier event. It is learnt that J&K has been promised the next year's edition.

According to the Haryana Football Association (HFA) secretary Sunil Bharadwaj, the State Government has guaranteed full support. "We are ready to host the tournament thanks to the support from the Chief Minister B.S. Hooda and the Minister for Power Vinod Sharma. We were prepared for this event and the infrastructure is in place. It will be good for the sport in the State." This will be the first occasion that Haryana will host the National championship. — Special Correspondent

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