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India’s national football championship, Santosh Trophy, takes a step into new frontier with semi-finalists Meghalaya, Punjab, Services and Karnataka ready to play in the final stages of this year’s edition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Indian football's experiment of taking the Santosh Trophy national championship abroad for the first time in its 82-year history will take shape on Wednesday with the four semi-finalists -- Punjab, Meghalaya, Services and Karnataka – to vie for the final at the King Fahd International Stadium in Saudi Arabia’s capital city.

Amid a PR blitz and a furious debate surrounding the competition leaving the Indian shores, it is easy to miss the fact that Meghalaya will be playing their first-ever semi-final in the Hero Santosh Trophy when they take on eight-time champions Punjab (kickoff: 5.30pm IST).

Six-time winners Services -- they last won the title in 2018-19 beating Punjab in Ludhiana -- will play Karnataka in the other semi-final (kickoff: 9pm IST). Karnataka last won the domestic title 54 years back when its predecessor, the erstwhile state of Mysore, beat Bengal in the 1968-69 edition. The four teams landed in the Saudi capital on Monday evening though the scheduled training session was called off as the players were too tired.

While the kind of crowd Malappuram, Kerala drew in the last final – Kerala beat Bengal -- will be hard to replicate, the Saudi Arabian Football Federation is in touch with the Indian Embassy here to get the Indian expatriates to the stadium. Plans are also afoot to get schoolchildren to witness the matches. The tickets are priced at Saudi Riyal 5 (approx. ?110) and SR 10 (approx. ?220) for a package of two matches.

The third-place playoff between the losing semi-finalists and the final will be played on Sunday.

“Playing in front of a big crowd is a big plus but as a team, we concentrate on the match and not crowd support," Karnataka coach Ravi Babu Raju said.

King Fahd Stadium has in the recent past hosted Spanish Super Cup and Italian Super Cup matches besides hosting Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Riyadh All-Star game.

Meghalaya coach Khlain Syiemlieh denied that the first-timers will be overawed by the stage. "It's a great opportunity to play at such a venue but we are not bogged down by it. We have already created history by making the semis. We have nothing to lose and will approach the semi-final as a do-or-die match," he said on match eve.

Skipper Fullmoon Mukhim exhorted his players: “Once we enter the ground, things like opponents and jetlag doesn’t matter. Whenever we enter the field, we should play like tigers," the 28-year-old midfielder said.

Mukhim, who hails from the scenic Laitlum village, about 20 km from capital Shillong, plays for the Mawlai Sports Club, who he helped win the Shillong Premier League in the 2021-22 season. His family grows and sells betel leaves, but the Toni Kroos and Kevin de Bruyne fan wants to carve his own destiny. Leading Meghalaya to a maiden Santosh Trophy final won't be a bad start.

Runners-up in Group B, Meghalaya defeated Manipur, Delhi and Bengal, drew with Railways and lost to Services.

Punjab last won the trophy 15 years back. Coach Harjinder Singh said his team won’t take Meghalaya lightly. "We respect what they have achieved... Expect a good game tomorrow," the former India skipper said.

Karnataka face a strong Services team in the second semi-final. Having won five of the last 10 titles, Services will start favourites. They had also logged the most points (13) in the final round of the group stage.

"There is no room for complacency. We are trained soldiers and we are here to get the job done. We will play without any fear or inhibition," Services coach MG Ramachandran said.

Karnataka skipper Kartik Govindswami was equally bullish. "We are not here on a holiday. We have our plans in place and shall execute them on the pitch tomorrow," the 28-year-old said.