Santosh Trophy Final: Kerala offered Rs 1 crore by VPS Healthcare MD if they defeat West Bengal

In a classic match-up, football-crazy states of Kerala and West Bengal are set to lock horns in the finals of the 75th National Football Championship, Santosh Trophy at the Manjeri Payyanad Stadium in Malappuram, Kerala on 2nd May 2022.

In the run-up to the title clash, to make matters more exciting, Kerala, who have only won against Bengal 8 times, in their 31 meetings so far, have been offered a whopping Rs. 1 crore as a reward by Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, the Chairman and Managing Director of Abu Dhabi-based VPS Healthcare. Vayalil took to his Twitter to make this grand annoucement.

Making the stakes higher than what it already is, Kerala, being the hosts, will have a lot of pressure on them to win and with this extra money on offer from Vayalil, who is the son-in-law of business tycoon Yusuffali M.A, all eyes will be on Bino George's men to lift the trophy on home soil and prevent the Ranjan Bhattacharjee-coached Bengal side from winning.

The odds will be great for Kerala given their head-to-head history against a dominant Bengal side. So far, Kerala has managed to win the Santosh Trophy six times whereas the West Bengal football team has been crowned champions on 32 occasions, the highest-ever by any state to win the National Football Championships.

The Santosh Trophy final between Kerala and West Bengal will take place from 8:00 PM IST today.