| Santosh Trophy | |
| Year: | 1941–42 |
| Other Titles: | National Football Championship |
| Country: | India |
| Winners: | Bengal |
| Count: | 1 |
| Second: | Delhi |
| Next Season: | 1944–45 |
The 1941–42 Santosh Trophy was the first edition of the Santosh Trophy, the main state competition for football in India. It was held in July, 1941. Bengal won the title beating Delhi 5–1 in the final.[1]
Ten teams entered the tournament but Dacca Sporting Association withdrew.[2] Matches were played across the country and the final was played in Calcutta.[3]
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The score was 1–1 at half-time.
There was a shower before the final and both teams started cautiously. The gates for the match was 6175 rupees and 4 annas (Rs. 6175.25). The Bengal-Bombay semifinal at the same venue collected 6492 rupees and 8 annas.
De Mello scored the first goal in the fourth minute directly from a corner kick, an "Olympic Goal". "The ball came in the trek of an archaic parabola and swerved into the net within the far post." Hameeduddin equalised in the ninth minute with a rising shot, from a pass by Atma Ram. In the 22nd minute, the Delhi goal keeper Daley missed by a center by Noor Mohammad. The ball was headed on by D. Banerjee for De Mello to score his second goal. Bengal led 2–1 at half time.
The third Bengal goal came in the eighth minute of the second half, Banerjee playing an angular shot from the right across Daley from a pass by Bhattacharjee. Bhattacharjee scored in the 16th and 23rd minutes, Sunil Ghosh providing both assists. Ghosh suffered a head injury at the start of the match but returned in the eleventh minute.
Bengal was presented the trophy by Mrs H.R. Norton, the wife of the President of Indian Football Association. The chief guests for the final were Mrs Norton and B. C. Ghosh, the vice president of the IFA.
Some of the teams were referred to after their football associations. This article uses the names by which the teams came to be known.