SAFF Championship

SAFF Championship
Founded 1993 (1993)
Region SAFF
Number of teams
Current champions  India (7th title)
Most successful team(s)  India (7 titles)
Website www.saffsuzukicup.com
2018 SAFF Championship

The SAFF Championship, also called South Asian Football Federation Cup (previously South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup), is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by the South Asian Football Federation. Previous names have included the South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation Gold Cup in 1993 and South Asian Gold Cup 95 in 1995. Eight teams compete in the South Asian Football Federation Tournament.

History

The countries that 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 Federation (CAFF).

The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship kicked off in Kathmandu in 1997, evolving out of its forerunner, the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (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 Bangladeshi FA from FIFA; the tournament finally took place in 2003. The 2017 edition will be hosted by Bangladesh.[2]

Tournaments' summary

Year Host Final Third Place Match
Champion Score Runner-up 3rd Place Score 4th Place
1993
Details		 Pakistan
Pakistan
India		 [note 1]
Sri Lanka
Nepal		 [note 1]
Pakistan
1995
Details		 Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka		 1 – 0
India
Bangladesh		 [note 1]
Nepal
1997
Details		 Nepal
Nepal
India		 5 – 1
Maldives
Pakistan		 1 – 0
Sri Lanka
1999
Details		 India
India
India		 2 – 0
Bangladesh
Maldives		 2 – 0
Nepal
2003
Details		 Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh		 1 – 1
(5 – 3 pen.)
Maldives
India		 2 – 1
Pakistan
Year Host Final Losing semi-finalists [2]
Champion Score Runner-up
2005
Details		 Pakistan
Pakistan
India		 2 – 0
Bangladesh		  Maldives and  Pakistan
2008
Details		 Maldives Sri Lanka
Maldives & Sri Lanka
Maldives		 1 – 0
India		  Bhutan and  Sri Lanka
2009
Details		 Bangladesh
Bangladesh
India[note 1]		 0 – 0
(3 – 1 pen.)
Maldives		  Bangladesh and  Sri Lanka
2011
Details		 India
India
India		 4 – 0
Afghanistan		  Maldives and    Nepal
2013
Details		 Nepal
Nepal
Afghanistan		 2 – 0
India		  Maldives and    Nepal
2015
Details		 India
India
India		 2 – 1 (a.e.t.)
Afghanistan		  Maldives and  Sri Lanka
2018
Details		 Bangladesh
Bangladesh
1Final tournaments in league table format.
2No third place match has been played since 2005; losing semi-finalists are listed in alphabetical order.

Performance by nation

Nation Champions Runners-up Third-place Fourth-place Semi-finalists
 India 7 (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009,[note 2] 2011, 2015) 3 (1995, 2008, 2013) 1 (2003) – –
 Maldives 1 (2008) 3 (1997, 2003, 2009) 1 (1999) – 4 (2005, 2011, 2013, 2015)
 Bangladesh 1 (2003) 2 (1999, 2005) – 2 (1995, 2009)
 Afghanistan 1 (2013) 2 (2011, 2015) – – –
 Sri Lanka 1 (1995) 1 (1993) – 1 (1997) 2 (2008, 2009, 2015)
 Pakistan – – 1 (1997) 2 (1993, 2003) 1 (2005)
   Nepal – – 2 (1995, 1999) 3 (1993, 2011, 2013)
 Bhutan – – – – 1 (2008)

Top goalscorers

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ India competed in the tournament by fielding their national U-23 team.
  2. ↑ The 2009 tournament was won by India national U-23 football team.

References

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