The South Zone qualifiers for the Santosh Trophy will be played at the Bangalore Football Stadium here from January 17 to 22.
Karnataka has been drawn alongside Services, Telangana and Pondicherry in Group-A with Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar making up Group B. The two group toppers will advance to the final stage of the Santosh Trophy.
Karnataka (then Mysore state) last hosted the tournament in 1968-69, which was also the last time the State won the title.
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“It has been 49 years since the Santosh Trophy was held here. It’s a proud moment for us. We hope this will inspire young players.
“We need to take Karnataka football back to its glory days,” said KSFA President N.A. Haris here on Wednesday.
Tickets to certain stands will be priced at ₹100 and 50 while “a large section of the stands”, according to the KSFA, will be open to the public free of cost.
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Haris denied allegations of dishonesty in the selection of Karnataka’s probables. The final squad is yet to be announced.
“The selection committee is doing a fair job; only the best players will be selected,” he said.
“Players cannot get in through somebody’s influence. We have kept the process very transparent. Somebody who doesn’t deserve to be there should not get an opportunity. If there is such a case, we will look into it.”
A new logo for the KSFA was unveiled on the occasion, replacing the existing gandaberunda emblem.
“The old logo had been there for many years; we felt it was time for a change,” said KSFA Treasurer A.D. Nagendran.
“We also wanted some connection to football in the logo.”