| Santosh Trophy | |
| Year: | 1987–88 |
| Other Titles: | National Football Championship |
| Winners: | Punjab |
| Count: | 6 |
| Second: | Kerala |
| Matches: | 56 |
| Goals: | 145 |
| Scoring Leader: | Darbara Singh (7 goals) |
| Prev Season: | 1986–87 |
| Next Season: | 1988–89 |
The 1987–88 Santosh Trophy was the 44th edition of the Santosh Trophy, the main State competition for football in India. It was held in Kollam, Kerala. Punjab defeated Kerala 5–4 in sudden death in the final to win the competition for the sixth time.
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 5
Group 6
Santhosh trophy 1986-87 semi finalists - Bengal, Bihar, Kerala and Railways - got direct entry to the final round.
Group A
Karnataka had 0-0 draws in their first three matches. They needed to beat Bihar 5–0 in the last match of the league to displace Bengal from the second place and qualify for the semifinal. Bihar lost 6–0. The Bengal players attempted to stage a "black flag demonstration" to protest the result. This led to police action where nine Bengal players including captain Sudip Chatterjee, the manager Montu Ghosh and assistant Pradip Dutta were injured.[1]
Group B
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