SAFF Championship

Summary

The South Asian Football Federation Championship (erstwhile South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation Gold Cup and South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup), is the main subcontinental international association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). All seven teams are eligible to compete in tournament.

SAFF Championship
Original SAFF Championship trophy
Organising bodySAFF
Founded1993; 31 years ago (1993) (as SAARC Gold Cup)
RegionSouth Asia
Number of teams
7
Current champions India (9th title)
Most successful team(s) India (9 titles)
Websitesaffederation.org
2023 SAFF Championship

History edit

The countries that currently compete in the tournaments are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It is held every two years.[1] Afghanistan joined SAFF in 2005 and left the association in 2015 to become a founding member of Central Asian Football Association (CAFA).

The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship kicked off in Lahore in 1993, evolving out of its forerunner, the South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation (SAARC) Gold Cup. Since its inception, the biennial competition has developed into South Asia's premier football tournament, promoting the regional development of the game. The SAFF Championship 2001 was first postponed from Oct/Nov 2001 to Jan/Feb 2002 due to the suspension of the Bangladesh Football Federation from FIFA; the tournament finally took place in 2003. The 2018 edition was hosted by Bangladesh.[2]

The 2021 edition of the tournament was postponed twice to October 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

Results edit

Year Host Final Third place match/Losing semi-finalists
Champion Score Runner-up 3rd place Score 4th place
1993
Details
 
Pakistan
 
India
RR  
Sri Lanka
 
Nepal
RR  
Pakistan
1995
Details
 
Sri Lanka
 
Sri Lanka
1–0 (a.s.d.e.t.)  
India
  Bangladesh and     Nepal
1997
Details
 
Nepal
 
India
5–1  
Maldives
 
Pakistan
1–0  
Sri Lanka
1999
Details
 
India
 
India
2–0  
Bangladesh
 
Maldives
2–0  
Nepal
2003
Details
 
Bangladesh
 
Bangladesh
1–1 (a.e.t.)
(5–3 p)
 
Maldives
 
India
2–1 (a.s.d.e.t.)  
Pakistan
2005
Details
 
Pakistan
 
India
2–0  
Bangladesh
  Maldives and   Pakistan
2008
Details
   
Maldives & Sri Lanka
 
Maldives
1–0  
India
  Bhutan and   Sri Lanka
2009
Details
 
Bangladesh
 
India U23
0–0 (a.e.t.)
(3–1 p)
 
Maldives
  Bangladesh and   Sri Lanka
2011
Details
 
India
 
India
4–0  
Afghanistan
  Maldives and     Nepal
2013
Details
 
Nepal
 
Afghanistan
2–0  
India
  Maldives and     Nepal
2015
Details
 
India
 
India
2–1 (a.e.t.)  
Afghanistan
  Maldives and   Sri Lanka
2018
Details
 
Bangladesh
 
Maldives
2–1  
India
    Nepal and   Pakistan
2021
Details
 
Maldives
 
India
3–0  
Nepal
 
Maldives
RR [a]  
Bangladesh
2023
Details
 
India
 
India
1–1 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)
 
Kuwait
  Bangladesh and   Lebanon

Statistics edit

Performance by nation edit

Nation Champions Runners-up Third-place Fourth-place Semi-finalists
  India 9 (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009[b], 2011, 2015, 2021, 2023) 4 (1995, 2008, 2013, 2018) 1 (2003)
  Maldives 2 (2008, 2018) 3 (1997, 2003, 2009) 1 (1999) 4 (2005, 2011, 2013, 2015)
  Bangladesh 1 (2003) 2 (1999, 2005) 1 (1995) 3 (1995, 2009, 2023)
  Afghanistan* 1 (2013) 2 (2011, 2015)
  Sri Lanka 1 (1995) 1 (1993) 1 (1997) 3 (2008, 2009, 2015)
    Nepal 1 (2021) 1 (1993) 2 (1995, 1999) 3 (2011, 2013, 2018)
  Kuwait3 1 (2023)
  Pakistan 1 (1997) 2 (1993, 2003) 2 (2005, 2018)
  Bhutan 1 (2008)
  Lebanon3 1 (2023)
Bold = Hosts
* = No longer SAFF member
3 = Invited as guest teams from WAFF

Participating nations edit

Legend
  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • 3rd – Third place
  • 4th – Fourth place
  • SF – Semifinals1
  • GS – Group stage
  • DQ – Disqualified/Suspended by FIFA/AFC/SAFF.
  • Q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
  •     — Hosts
  •  ×  – Did not enter
  •  ×  – Withdrew before tournament begins
  •     — Not part of SAFF
Team  
1993
 
1995
 
1997
 
1999
 
2003
 
2005
 
 
2008
 
2009
 
2011
 
2013
 
2015
 
2018
 
2021
 
2023
Total
  Bangladesh × SF GS 2nd 1st 2nd GS SF GS GS GS GS GS SF 13
  Bhutan Not part of SAFF GS GS SF GS GS GS GS GS × GS 9
  India2 1st 2nd 1st 1st 3rd 1st 2nd 1st 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 1st 14
  Maldives × × 2nd 3rd 2nd SF 1st 2nd SF SF SF 1st GS GS 12
    Nepal 3rd SF GS 4th GS GS GS GS SF SF GS SF 2nd GS 14
  Pakistan 4th GS 3rd GS 4th SF GS GS GS GS × SF DQ GS 12
  Sri Lanka 2nd 1st 4th GS GS GS SF SF GS GS SF GS GS DQ 13
Former team(s)
  Afghanistan3 Not part of SAFF GS GS GS GS 2nd 1st 2nd Part of CAFA 7
Guest teams
  Kuwait4 × 2nd 1
  Lebanon4 × SF 1

1The third-place match was not played in 1995 and has not been played 2003 onwards.
2Including India U23 team.
3Left SAFF and joined CAFA in 2015.
4Invited as a guest team from the WAFF.

All-time table edit

As of 4 July 2023.

 
Afghanistan's Hamid Karimi holding the SAFF trophy after winning the 2013 SAFF Championship.
Rank Team Part Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1   India1 14 62 39 15 8 108 38 +70 132
2   Maldives 12 50 25 11 14 98 52 +46 86
3   Bangladesh 13 46 18 12 16 52 47 +5 66
4     Nepal 14 46 14 7 25 51 68 −17 49
5   Sri Lanka 13 41 13 7 21 48 65 −17 46
6   Pakistan 12 39 12 8 19 32 51 −19 44
7   Afghanistan 7 27 12 4 11 48 42 +6 40
8   Kuwait 1 5 3 2 0 9 2 +7 11
9   Lebanon 1 4 3 1 0 7 1 +6 10
10   Bhutan 9 27 1 1 25 15 102 −87 4

1Including India U23 team.

Top goal scorers by edition edit

 
Ali Ashfaq of Maldives scored the most number of goals in a single championship, 10 goals at the 2013 Championship.
Years Player(s) Goals
1993   I. M. Vijayan 3
1995   Mohamed Amanulla 3
1997   I. M. Vijayan 6
1999   Bhaichung Bhutia 3
  Mizanur Rahman Dawn
  Mohamed Wildhan
  Naresh Joshi
2003   Sarfraz Rasool 4
2005   Ali Ashfaq 3
  Ibrahim Fazeel
  Ahmed Thariq
2008   Harez Habib 4
2009   Enamul Haque 4
  Ahmed Thariq
  Channa Ediri Bandanage
2011   Sunil Chhetri 7
2013   Ali Ashfaq 10
2015   Khaibar Amani 4
2018   Manvir Singh 3
  Hassan Bashir
2021   Sunil Chhetri 5
2023   Sunil Chhetri 5

Overall top goal scorers edit

 
Sunil Chhetri at the 2011 SAFF Championship.
As of 27 June 2023, 20:30 IST
Players with 10 or more goals at SAFF Championships
Rank Nation Player Goals scored
1   Sunil Chhetri 23
  Ali Ashfaq
3   Bhaichung Bhutia 12
4   Ibrahim Fazeel 10
  Ahmed Thariq

Winning coaches edit

 
1. Syed Nayeemuddin
 
2. Igor Štimac
Both Syed Nayeemuddin and Igor Štimac won the SAFF Championship twice with India national team.
Year Team Coach
1993   India   Jiri Pesek
1995   Sri Lanka   Jorge Perreira
1997   India   Syed Nayeemuddin
1999   India   Sukhwinder Singh
2003   Bangladesh   George Kottan
2005   India   Syed Nayeemuddin
2008   Maldives   Jozef Jankech
2009   India U23   Sukhwinder Singh
2011   India   Savio Medeira
2013   Afghanistan   Mohammad Yousef Kargar
2015   India   Stephen Constantine
2018   Maldives   Petar Šegrt
2021   India   Igor Štimac
2023   India   Igor Štimac

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ The format of the tournament was changed to round-robin due to the suspension of Pakistan and the withdrawal of Bhutan. Maldives finished third in points and hence listed as third place.[4]
  2. ^ India was represented by the India U-23 team.

References edit

  1. ^ "From SAARC Gold Cup to SAFF Championship". Givemegoal.com.np. 3 August 2013. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  2. ^ "Infos at goalnepal.com". Archived from the original on 2017-08-18. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
  3. ^ "We Will Try Our Best To Host SAFF 2021 Matches In Pokhara". Goal Nepal. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  4. ^ Mukherjee, Soham (9 September 2021). "SAFF Championship 2021: Everything you need to know". Goal. Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.

External links edit

  • Official website
  • RSSSF page on the South Asian Federation Cup
  • South Asia Football–Complete SAFF website
  • SAFF Championship winners since 1993

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