# 1987–88 Santosh Trophy

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.

## Preliminary round

Group 1
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Punjab | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | +10 | 6 | Qualified for Final Round |
| 2 | Uttar Pradesh | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Delhi | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 | |
| 4 | Himachal Pradesh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0 | |
Group 2
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Tamil Nadu | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 6 | Qualified for Final Round |
| 2 | Services | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 4 | |
| 3 | Nagaland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 1 | |
| 4 | Tripura | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 12 | −12 | 1 | |
Group 3
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Karnataka | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 6 | Qualified for Final Round |
| 2 | Madhya Pradesh | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 4 | |
| 3 | Meghalaya | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 2 | |
| 4 | Gujarat | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 | |
Group 4
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Goa | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 | 6 | Qualified for Final Round |
| 2 | Haryana | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 | |
| 3 | Rajasthann | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Pondicherry | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | −9 | 0 | |
Group 5
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Jammu-Kashmir | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 | Qualified for Final Round |
| 2 | Andhra Pradesh | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 | |
| 3 | Sikkim | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0 | |
Group 6
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Maharashtra | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 6 | Qualified for Final Round |
| 2 | Orissa | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| 3 | Assam | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 2 | |
| 4 | Manipur | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 9 | −5 | 2 | |

## Final round

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.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Punjab | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 | Qualified for Semifinals |
| 2 | Karnataka | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | +6 | 5 | Qualified for Semifinals |
| 3 | Bengal | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 5 | |
| 4 | Bihar | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 2 | |
| 5 | Tamil Nadu | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 2 | |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Kerala | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 7 | Qualified for Semifinals |
| 2 | Maharashtra | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 5 | Qualified for Semifinals |
| 3 | Railways | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 | |
| 4 | Goa | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 | |
| 5 | Jammu-Kashmir | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16 | −16 | 0 | |