Saudi stadium that hosted Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo to stage Santosh Trophy final stage
Step or misstep, the All India Football Federation has made its first major move after the announcement of the ‘Vision 2047’ roadmap. A new set of officials has taken over and taken a domestic interstate tournament to international shores in a bid to rebuild its royalty status. The King Fahd International Stadium, home to a clash between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi just over a month ago, will see two semi-finals, a third-place match and the title clash between four Indian state teams as the final leg of the Santosh Trophy is held in Riyadh.
Players from Services and Punjab flew from Delhi to Mumbai and then took a flight to Riyadh to be welcomed by a ‘Winter in Saudi’ placard at the airport on a day when the temperature was touching 30C. For most, the experience of playing outsid...