The 2023 SAFF Championship (known as the 2023 Bangabandhu SAFF Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th edition of the SAFF Championship, the biennial international men's football championship of South Asia organised by South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The event was held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore, India from 21 June to 4 July 2023.

India, the defending champions, won their record-extending ninth championship by defeating Kuwait in the final.

Host selection

At the SAFF Executive Committee meeting, held on 17 October 2021 in the Maldives, Football Sri Lanka expressed their interest to bid for hosting the tournament. However, FIFA suspended Sri Lanka on 21 January 2023, which ceased them from hosting and participation in any football tournament.

Later on 30 January 2023, SAFF unofficially announced that only Nepal had applied for hosting rights till the deadline which is 29 January 2023. The host was supposed to be announced following the SAFF members' meeting during 33rd AFC Congress in Manama, Bahrain on 1 February 2023. On 14 February 2023, India were declared as the hosts of the 14th edition of the championship. On 19 March 2023, AIFF announced Bangalore as the host city for SAFF Championship 2023.

Participating nations

Football Sri Lanka was sanctioned by FIFA on 21 January 2023, which made them ineligible for participation in the competition. Kuwait and Lebanon were invited as guest teams with a view to increase the number of teams for the championship and make the event more competitive.

CountryAppearancePrevious best performanceFIFA ranking (6 April 2023)
Bangladesh13thChampions (2003)192
Bhutan9thSemi-finals (2008)185
India14thChampions (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021)101
Kuwait1stDebut (invitee)143
Lebanon1stDebut (invitee)99
Maldives12thChampions (2008, 2018)154
Nepal14thRunners-up (2021)174
Pakistan12thThird place (1997)195

Squads

Each team had to register a squad with a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 23 players, at least three of whom must be goalkeepers.

Venue

The Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore, Karnataka, India hosted all the matches.

BangaloreBangalore
Sree Kanteerava Stadium
12°58′10.92″N 77°35′36.24″E/12.9697000°N 77.5934000°E/ 12.9697000; 77.5934000(Bangalore)
Capacity: 25,810

Draw

The draw ceremony of this tournament was held on 17 May 2023 at 12:30 IST in New Delhi, India.

Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4
Lebanon (99) India (101) (hosts)Kuwait (143) Maldives (154)Nepal (174) Bhutan (185)Bangladesh (192) Pakistan (195)

Draw result

Group A
PosTeam
Group A Pos Team A1 India A2 Kuwait A3 Nepal A4 PakistanGroup B Pos Team B1 Lebanon B2 Maldives B3 Bhutan B4 Bangladesh
A1India
A2Kuwait
A3Nepal
A4Pakistan
PosTeam
B1Lebanon
B2Maldives
B3Bhutan
B4Bangladesh

Officiating

Referees

Assistant referees

Group stage

Group A

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Kuwait321082+67Qualified for Semi-finals
2India (H)321071+67
3Nepal310225−33
4Pakistan300309−90
Kuwait3–1Nepal
El Ebrahim 23' Al-Khaldi 42' Daham 65' (pen.)Bista 69'
India4–0Pakistan
Chhetri 10', 16' (pen.), 75' (pen.) Kumam 81'
Pakistan0–4Kuwait
Al-Enezi 10' Al-Faneeni 17', 45+1' Al-Rasheedi 69'
Nepal0–2India
Chhetri 62' N. M. Singh 70'
Nepal1–0Pakistan
Chaudhary 80'
India1–1Kuwait
Chhetri 45+2'A. Ali 90+2' (o.g.)

Group B

PosTeamvtePldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Lebanon330071+69Qualified for Semi-finals
2Bangladesh320164+26
3Maldives310234−13
4Bhutan300329−70
Lebanon2–0Bangladesh
Maatouk 80' Bader 90+6'
Maldives2–0Bhutan
Mohamed 6' (pen.) N. Hassan 90'
Bangladesh3–1Maldives
Rakib 42' Kazi 67' Morsalin 90'Hamza 18'
Bhutan1–4Lebanon
Gyeltshen 79'Sadek 11' Al Haj 23' Bader 35' M. Zein 42'
Lebanon1–0Maldives
Maatouk 24'
Bhutan1–3Bangladesh
Dorji 12'Morsalin 21' Jigme 31' (o.g.) Rakib 36'

Knockout stage

Bracket

Semi-finalsFinal
1 July 2023
Kuwait (a.e.t.)1
4 July 2023
Bangladesh0
Kuwait1 (4)
1 July 2023
India (p)1 (5)
Lebanon0 (2)
India (p)0 (4)

Semi-finals

Kuwait1–0 (a.e.t.)Bangladesh
Al-Buloushi 105+2'
Lebanon0–0 (a.e.t.)India
Penalties
Maatouk Shour Sadek Bader2–4Chhetri A. Ali Mahesh Udanta

Final

Kuwait1–1 (a.e.t.)India
Khaldi 14'Chhangte 36'
Penalties
Daham Otaibi Dhaferi Naji Khaldi Hajeyah4–5Chhetri Jhingan Chhangte Udanta S. Bose Mahesh

Statistics

Goalscorers

There were 38 goals scored in 15 matches, for an average of 2.53 goals per match.

5 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Awards

Most Valuable PlayerTop ScorerGoalkeeperFair Play
India national football team Sunil ChhetriIndia national football team Sunil Chhetri (5 goals)Bangladesh national football team Anisur Rahman ZicoNepal

Champion

SAFF Championship 2023
India 9th title

Prize money

Prize money amounts were announced in 2023.

PositionAmount (USD)
Champions50,000
Runner-up25,000
Total75,000

Broadcasting

CountryBroadcasterRef.
BangladeshT Sports
IndiaDD Bharati, DD Sports, FanCode
KuwaitKuwait Television
LebanonLBCI
MaldivesICE TV, Yes TV
NepalKantipur Television
PakistanGeo Super, A Sports

See also

2023 in SAFF
Men's
U-16 ChampionshipU-19 ChampionshipSenior Championship (Final)
Women's
U-17 ChampionshipU-20 Championship