SAFF Championship
The SAFF Championship trophy | |
| Organising body | SAFF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 (as SAARC Gold Cup) |
| Region | South Asia |
| Number of teams | |
| Current champions | India (2023) |
| Most successful team(s) | India (9 titles) |
| Website | saffederation.org |
| 2026 SAFF Championship | |
| Tournaments |
|---|
The SAFF Championship (erstwhile SAARC Gold Cup and SAFF Gold Cup), is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), determining the sub-continental champion of South Asia.
History
India is most successful team of this region. They won the title 9 times which is 7 times more than second most successful team Maldives (having won 2 times). Total 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]
Organisation
Sports marketing, media, and event management firm, Sportfive (formerly Lagardère Sports) has been involved in the tournament since 2025.[4]
Title sponsorship
| Period | Sponsor | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | No title sponsor | SAARC Gold Cup |
| 1995 | Ceylon Tobacco Company | Bristol SAARC Gold Cup |
| 1997 | No title sponsor | SAFF Gold Cup |
| 1999 | Coca-Cola | SAFF Coca-Cola Cup |
| 2003–2005 | No title sponsor | SAFF Gold Cup |
| 2008 | SAFF Championship | |
| 2009 | BEXIMCO | Bangabandhu SAFF Championship |
| 2011 | Karbonn | Karbonn SAFF Championship |
| 2013 | No title sponsor | SAFF Championship |
| 2015–2018 | Suzuki | SAFF Suzuki Cup |
| 2021 | Ooredoo | Ooredoo SAFF Championship |
| 2023 | Bashundhara Group | Bangabandhu SAFF Championship |
| Source: GSA | ||
Results
Overall team records
In this ranking 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws. Teams are ranked by total points, then by goal difference, then by goals scored.
- As of 2023 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.
Teams reaching the top four
| 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) | 2 (1999, 2021) | – | 4 (2005, 2011, 2013, 2015) |
| Bangladesh | 1 (2003) | 2 (1999, 2005) | 1 (1995) | 1 (2021) | 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
Comprehensive team results by tournament
- Legend
| Team | 1993 |
1995 |
1997 |
1999 |
2003 |
2005 |
2008 |
2009 |
2011 |
2013 |
2015 |
2018 |
2021 |
2023 |
2025 |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | × | SF | GS | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | GS | SF | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | SF | Q | 13 |
| Bhutan | Not part of SAFF | GS | GS | SF | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | × | GS | Q | 9 | |||
| India2 | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | Q | 14 |
| Maldives | × | × | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | SF | 1st | 2nd | SF | SF | SF | 1st | GS | GS | Q | 12 |
| Nepal | 3rd | SF | GS | 4th | GS | GS | GS | GS | SF | SF | GS | SF | 2nd | GS | Q | 14 |
| Pakistan | 4th | GS | 3rd | GS | 4th | SF | GS | GS | GS | GS | × | SF | DQ | GS | Q | 12 |
| Sri Lanka | 2nd | 1st | 4th | GS | GS | GS | SF | SF | GS | GS | SF | GS | GS | DQ | Q | 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.
Top goal scorers by edition
| Years | Player(s) | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Inivalappil Mani Vijayan | 3 |
| 1995 | Mohamed Amanulla | 3 |
| 1997 | Inivalappil Mani 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
- As of 27 June 2023
| Rank | Nation | Player | Goals scored |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunil Chhetri | 23 | |
| Ali Ashfaq | |||
| 3 | Bhaichung Bhutia | 12 | |
| 4 | Ibrahim Fazeel | 10 | |
| Ahmed Thariq |
Winning coaches
| Year | Team | Coach |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | India | Jiří Pešek |
| 1995 | Sri Lanka | Jorge Perreira |
| 1997 | India | Syed Nayeemuddin |
| 1999 | India | Sukhwinder Singh |
| 2003 | Bangladesh | George Kottan |
| 2005 | India | Syed Nayeemuddin (2) |
| 2008 | Maldives | Jozef Jankech |
| 2009 | India U23 | Sukhwinder Singh (2) |
| 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 (2) |
See also
- SAFF Women's Championship
- AFC Asian Cup
- Football at the Asian Games
- ASEAN Championship
- CAFA Championship
- EAFF E-1 Football Championship
- WAFF Championship
- Sub-continental football championships in Asia
- Football at the South Asian Games
- SABA Championship
- CAVA Men's Volleyball Nations League
Notes
- ^ 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.[5]
- ^ India was represented by the India U-23 team.
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Infos at goalnepal.com". Archived from the original on 2017-08-18. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "SAFF Ex.Co meeting approves home or away format for SAFF Championship 2025". saffederation.org. Retrieved 2025-01-08.
- ^ 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.