The SAFF Championship (earlier the SAARC Gold Cup and the SAFF Gold Cup) is the primary football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), determining the sub-continental champion of the South Asia.

History

Countries that currently compete in the tournaments are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It is held approximately every two years. India won the title 9 times, 7 more than second most successful, Maldives. Afghanistan joined the SAFF in 2005 and left in 2015 to become a founding member of the 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 was first postponed from October 2001 to January 2002 due to the suspension of the Bangladesh Football Federation; the tournament finally took place in 2003. The 2021 edition of the tournament was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organisation

Sports marketing, media, and event management company Sportfive (formerly Lagardère Sports) has been involved in the tournament since 2025.

Title sponsorship

PeriodSponsorName
1993No title sponsorSAARC Gold Cup
1995Ceylon Tobacco CompanyBristol SAARC Gold Cup
1997No title sponsorSAFF Gold Cup
1999Coca-ColaSAFF Coca-Cola Cup
2003–2005No title sponsorSAFF Gold Cup
2008SAFF Championship
2009BEXIMCOBangabandhu SAFF Championship
2011KarbonnKarbonn SAFF Championship
2013No title sponsorSAFF Championship
2015–2018SuzukiSAFF Suzuki Cup
2021OoredooOoredoo SAFF Championship
2023Bashundhara ToiletriesBangabandhu SAFF Championship
Source:

Results

ChampionsScoreRunners-upThird placeScoreFourth place
Ed.YearHostsFinalThird place playoffNo. of teams
11993PakistanIndiaRRSri LankaNepalRRPakistan4
21995Sri LankaSri Lanka1–0 (a.s.d.e.t.)IndiaBangladesh and Nepal5
31997NepalIndia5–1MaldivesPakistan1–0Sri Lanka6
41999IndiaIndia2–0BangladeshMaldives2–0Nepal6
52003BangladeshBangladesh1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–3 p)MaldivesIndia2–1 (a.s.d.e.t.)Pakistan8
62005PakistanIndia2–0BangladeshMaldives and Pakistan8
72008Maldives Sri LankaMaldives1–0IndiaBhutan and Sri Lanka8
82009BangladeshIndia U230–0 (a.e.t.) (3–1 p)MaldivesBangladesh and Sri Lanka8
92011IndiaIndia4–0AfghanistanMaldives and Nepal8
102013NepalAfghanistan2–0IndiaMaldives and Nepal8
112015IndiaIndia2–1 (a.e.t.)AfghanistanMaldives and Sri Lanka7
122018BangladeshMaldives2–1IndiaNepal and Pakistan7
132021MaldivesIndia3–0NepalMaldivesRRBangladesh5
142023IndiaIndia1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)KuwaitBangladesh and Lebanon8
152026Bangladesh

Overall records

In this ranking 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. 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

Portrait of Hamidullah Karimi
Afghanistan's Hamid Karimi holding the SAFF trophy after winning the 2013 SAFF Championship
RankTeamPartPldWDLGFGAGDPts
1India114623915810838+70132
2Maldives12502511149852+4686
3Bangladesh13461812165247+566
4Nepal1446147255168−1749
5Sri Lanka1341137214865−1746
6Pakistan1239128193251−1944
7Afghanistan727124114842+640
8Kuwait1532092+711
9Lebanon1431071+610
10Bhutan927112515102−874

1Including India U23 team.

NationChampionsRunners-upThird-placeFourth-placeSemi-finalists
India9 (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021, 2023)4 (1995, 2008, 2013, 2018)1 (2003)––
Maldives2 (2008, 2018)3 (1997, 2003, 2009)2 (1999, 2021)–4 (2005, 2011, 2013, 2015)
Bangladesh1 (2003)2 (1999, 2005)1 (1995)1 (2021)3 (1995, 2009, 2023)
Afghanistan*1 (2013)2 (2011, 2015)–––
Sri Lanka1 (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

Results by tournament

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
Team199319951997199920032005200820092011201320152018202120232026Total
Bangladesh×SFGS2nd1st2ndGSSFGSGSGSGSGSSFQ13
BhutanNot part of SAFFGSGSSFGSGSGSGSGS×GSQ9
India21st2nd1st1st3rd1st2nd1st1st2nd1st2nd1st1stQ14
Maldives××2nd3rd2ndSF1st2ndSFSFSF1stGSGSQ12
Nepal3rdSFGS4thGSGSGSGSSFSFGSSF2ndGSQ14
Pakistan4thGS3rdGS4thSFGSGSGSGS×SFDQGSQ12
Sri Lanka2nd1st4thGSGSGSSFSFGSGSSFGSGSDQQ13
Former team(s)
Afghanistan3Not part of SAFFGSGSGSGS2nd1st2ndPart of CAFA7
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 goalscorers

Ali Ashfaq of Maldives scored the most number of goals in a single championship, 10 goals at the 2013 Championship
YearsPlayer(s)Goals
1993India Inivalappil Mani Vijayan3
1995Sri Lanka Mohamed Amanulla3
1997India Inivalappil Mani Vijayan6
1999India Bhaichung Bhutia3
Bangladesh Mizanur Rahman Dawn
Maldives Mohamed Wildhan
Nepal Naresh Joshi
2003Pakistan Sarfraz Rasool4
2005Maldives Ali Ashfaq3
Maldives Ibrahim Fazeel
Maldives Ahmed Thariq
2008Afghanistan Harez Habib4
2009Bangladesh Enamul Haque4
Maldives Ahmed Thariq
Sri Lanka Channa Ediri Bandanage
2011India Sunil Chhetri7
2013Maldives Ali Ashfaq10
2015Afghanistan Khaibar Amani4
2018India Manvir Singh3
Pakistan Hassan Bashir
2021India Sunil Chhetri5
2023India Sunil Chhetri5

Overall

Sunil Chhetri tackling against Afghanistan.
Sunil Chhetri at the 2011 SAFF Championship

As of 27 June 2023

Players with 10 or more goals
RankNationPlayerGoals scored
1IndiaSunil Chhetri23
MaldivesAli Ashfaq
3IndiaBhaichung Bhutia12
4MaldivesIbrahim Fazeel10
MaldivesAhmed Thariq

Winning coaches

Syed Nayeemuddin at a football workshop in 24 Paraganas District, West Bengal, India
1. Syed Nayeemuddin
YearTeamCoach
1993IndiaCzech Republic Jiří Pešek
1995Sri LankaBrazil Jorge Perreira
1997IndiaIndia Syed Nayeemuddin
1999IndiaIndia Sukhwinder Singh
2003BangladeshAustria George Kottan
2005IndiaIndia Syed Nayeemuddin (2)
2008MaldivesSlovakia Jozef Jankech
2009India U23India Sukhwinder Singh (2)
2011IndiaIndia Savio Medeira
2013AfghanistanAfghanistan Mohammad Yousef Kargar
2015IndiaEngland Stephen Constantine
2018MaldivesCroatia Petar Šegrt
2021IndiaCroatia Igor Štimac
2023IndiaCroatia Igor Štimac (2)

See also

Notes

External links