'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What's the story?
In a diverse country like India, football truly binds the nation like every other big sport. What makes the culturally diverse states of India even more presentable in a footballing sense is the ability to play against fellow states in one of the biggest domestic competitions in the country, the Santosh Trophy. For Real Kashmir FC however, the selection of the Jammu & Kashmir team to play in the Trophy is questionable, to say the least.
The club has officially announced that they will withdraw from the Mufti Muhammad Syed Memorial Trophy in protest of what they call a biased selection system for the J&K Santosh Trophy side.
In case you didn't know...
Real Kashmir FC were due to play in the local tournament but have surprisingly pulled out owing to the controversy surrounding the Santosh Trophy squad put up by J&K. Real Kashmir themselves play in the 2nd division of the I-League.
The heart of the matter
From what is clear so far, the club announced their decision to pull out from the competition just today, clearly stating that the reason to withdraw from the competition was that the Santosh Trophy team from the state comprised of players taken from a private club with whom the selector had a conflict of interest.
Not a single player from the Real Kashmir squad was selected for the team despite being considered extremely talented.
What's next?
The Santosh Trophy will go on as planned despite the controversy surrounding the J&K team.
Author's take
This is extremely shocking and the fact that it has been considered to have been happening in the past is proof that even now we lack transparency in the selection process. Truly disappointing, to say the least.
