Initially, a centralized venue was planned for the tournament. Eventually, a home-and-away format was finalized as the AIFF expressed reservations over allotting two weeks during the regular Indian football calendar. It was planned to be held in 2024, but postponed to 2026.
Association team allocation
A total of 8 teams from 7 SAFF member associations are set to participate in the 2026 SAFF Club Championship. The association ranking based on the AFC member assosciation coefficient rankings is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association. This will include two teams from India and one team from Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.