New Delhi: The state of Jammu and Kashmir is all set to host the national football championship for the Santosh Trophy in May 2008, after a gap of 30 years, a top official of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said today. "We are pretty satisfied with the way things are moving in the state for the tournament. The government is also keen to host the tournament, which will also boost the tourism in the state," AIFF vice-president Subrata Dutta, who was a part of the two-member inspection committee, told. The two-member team has also submitted a positive report on the preparation for the event earlier this week.

The report will be discussed in the AIFF executive committee meeting Saturday, and is likely to be passed in the annual general meeting on Sunday, said a top official. The north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, which has been hit by terrorism for the past two decades, was awarded the right to host the national championship in 2007. But interestingly the AIFF shifted the championship to Haryana from Srinagar because of infrastructure problems. Two major state associations Indian Football Association (IFA) of West Bengal and Goa Football Association (GFA) also expressed their apprehensions over security issues in the state.

"We have done our inspection in both Srinagar and Jammu and the construction works in the stadiums there are being done at a fast rate. We now have four dressing rooms in the Bakshi Stadium (Srinagar) and the Maulana Azad College ground (Jammu) is also in fine condition," said Dutta. "The Jammu and Kashmir Football Association has done a good job and I think that it has the capacity to host the Santosh Trophy," he added.

Briefing about the security arrangement, Dutta said, the state chief minister has assured that security won't be a problem for the organization of the tournament.

The last time the state hosted Santosh Trophy was in 1978-79 when Bengal defeated Goa in the final.(IANS)