SAFF Championship
| File:SAFF Championship Trophy.jpg Original SAFF Championship trophy | |
| Organising body | SAFF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 (as SAARC Gold Cup) |
| Region | South Asia |
| Number of teams | |
| Current champions | File:Flag of India.svg India (2023) |
| Most successful team(s) | File:Flag of India.svg India (9 titles) |
| Website | saffederation.org |
| File:Soccerball current event.svg 2023 SAFF Championship | |
| Tournaments |
|---|
The South Asian Football Federation Championship (erstwhile South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation Gold Cup and South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup), is the main subcontinental international association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). All seven teams are eligible to compete in tournament.
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]
Results
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Statistics
Performance by nation
| Nation | Champions | Runners-up | Third-place | Fourth-place | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Flag of India.svg India | 9 (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009,[lower-alpha 2] 2011, 2015, 2021, 2023) | 4 (1995, 2008, 2013, 2018) | 1 (2003) | – | – |
| File:Flag of Maldives.svg Maldives | 2 (2008, 2018) | 3 (1997, 2003, 2009) | 2 (1999, 2021) | – | 4 (2005, 2011, 2013, 2015) |
| File:Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh | 1 (2003) | 2 (1999, 2005) | 1 (1995) | 1 (2021) | 3 (1995, 2009, 2023) |
| File:Flag of Afghanistan (2013–2021).svg Afghanistan* | 1 (2013) | 2 (2011, 2015) | – | – | – |
| File:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka | 1 (1995) | 1 (1993) | – | 1 (1997) | 3 (2008, 2009, 2015) |
| File:Flag of Nepal.svg Nepal | – | 1 (2021) | 1 (1993) | 2 (1995, 1999) | 3 (2011, 2013, 2018) |
| File:Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait3 | – | 1 (2023) | – | – | – |
| File:Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan | – | – | 1 (1997) | 2 (1993, 2003) | 2 (2005, 2018) |
| File:Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan | – | – | – | – | 1 (2008) |
| File:Flag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon3 | – | – | – | – | 1 (2023) |
- Bold = Hosts
- * = No longer SAFF member
- 3 = Invited as guest teams from WAFF
Participating nations
- Legend
| Team | Pakistan 1993 |
Sri Lanka 1995 |
Nepal 1997 |
India 1999 |
Bangladesh 2003 |
Pakistan 2005 |
Maldives Sri Lanka 2008 |
Bangladesh 2009 |
India 2011 |
Nepal 2013 |
India 2015 |
Bangladesh 2018 |
Maldives 2021 |
India 2023 |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh | × | SF | GS | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | GS | SF | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | SF | 13 |
| File:Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan | Not part of SAFF | GS | GS | SF | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | × | GS | 9 | |||
| File:Flag of India.svg India2 | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 14 |
| File:Flag of Maldives.svg Maldives | × | × | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | SF | 1st | 2nd | SF | SF | SF | 1st | GS | GS | 12 |
| File:Flag of Nepal.svg Nepal | 3rd | SF | GS | 4th | GS | GS | GS | GS | SF | SF | GS | SF | 2nd | GS | 14 |
| File:Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan | 4th | GS | 3rd | GS | 4th | SF | GS | GS | GS | GS | × | SF | DQ | GS | 12 |
| File:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka | 2nd | 1st | 4th | GS | GS | GS | SF | SF | GS | GS | SF | GS | GS | DQ | 13 |
| Former team(s) | |||||||||||||||
| File:Flag of Afghanistan (2013–2021).svg Afghanistan3 | Not part of SAFF | GS | GS | GS | GS | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | Part of CAFA | 7 | |||||
| Guest teams | |||||||||||||||
| File:Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait4 | × | 2nd | 1 | ||||||||||||
| File:Flag of Lebanon.svg 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.
All-time table
As of 4 July 2023[update].
| Rank | Team | Part | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | File:Flag of India.svg India1 | 14 | 62 | 39 | 15 | 8 | 108 | 38 | +70 | 132 |
| 2 | File:Flag of Maldives.svg Maldives | 12 | 50 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 98 | 52 | +46 | 86 |
| 3 | File:Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh | 13 | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 52 | 47 | +5 | 66 |
| 4 | File:Flag of Nepal.svg Nepal | 14 | 46 | 14 | 7 | 25 | 51 | 68 | −17 | 49 |
| 5 | File:Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka | 13 | 41 | 13 | 7 | 21 | 48 | 65 | −17 | 46 |
| 6 | File:Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan | 12 | 39 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 32 | 51 | −19 | 44 |
| 7 | File:Flag of Afghanistan (2013–2021).svg Afghanistan | 7 | 27 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 48 | 42 | +6 | 40 |
| 8 | File:Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 11 |
| 9 | File:Flag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 10 |
| 10 | File:Flag of Bhutan.svg Bhutan | 9 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 15 | 102 | −87 | 4 |
1Including India U23 team.
Top goal scorers by edition
| Years | Player(s) | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | India I. M. Vijayan | 3 |
| 1995 | Sri Lanka Mohamed Amanulla | 3 |
| 1997 | India I. M. Vijayan | 6 |
| 1999 | India Bhaichung Bhutia | 3 |
| Bangladesh Mizanur Rahman Dawn | ||
| Maldives Mohamed Wildhan | ||
| Nepal Naresh Joshi | ||
| 2003 | Pakistan Sarfraz Rasool | 4 |
| 2005 | Maldives Ali Ashfaq | 3 |
| Maldives Ibrahim Fazeel | ||
| Maldives Ahmed Thariq | ||
| 2008 | Afghanistan Harez Habib | 4 |
| 2009 | Bangladesh Enamul Haque | 4 |
| Maldives Ahmed Thariq | ||
| Sri Lanka Channa Ediri Bandanage | ||
| 2011 | India Sunil Chhetri | 7 |
| 2013 | Maldives Ali Ashfaq | 10 |
| 2015 | Afghanistan Khaibar Amani | 4 |
| 2018 | India Manvir Singh | 3 |
| Pakistan Hassan Bashir | ||
| 2021 | India Sunil Chhetri | 5 |
| 2023 | India Sunil Chhetri | 5 |
Overall top goal scorers
- As of 27 June 2023, 20:30 IST
| Rank | Nation | Player | Goals scored |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | Sunil Chhetri | 23 |
| Maldives | Ali Ashfaq | ||
| 3 | India | Bhaichung Bhutia | 12 |
| 4 | Maldives | Ibrahim Fazeel | 10 |
| Maldives | Ahmed Thariq |
Winning coaches
See also
- SAFF Women's Championship
- AFC Asian Cup
- Asian Games
- AFF Championship
- CAFA Championship
- EAFF E-1 Football Championship
- WAFF Championship
- Sub-continental football championships in Asia
- Football at the South Asian Games
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.[4]
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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.
