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SAFF Championship
Football tournament of Asia
Football tournament of Asia
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | SAFF Championship |
| image | SAFF Championship original Trophy.jpg |
| imagesize | 100px |
| caption | The SAFF Championship trophy |
| organiser | SAFF |
| founded | (as *SAARC Gold Cup*) |
| number of teams | |
| region | South Asia |
| current champions | (9th title) |
| most successful team | (9 titles) |
| related comps | SAFF Women's Championship |
| current | [2026 SAFF Championship](2026-saff-championship) |
| website |
the men's tournament
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
| Period | Sponsor | Name | Source: [GSA](https://globalsportsarchive.com/competition/soccer/saff-gold-cup-1995-sri-lanka/semi-finals/17371/) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | No title sponsor | SAARC Gold Cup | |
| 1995 | Ceylon Tobacco Company | Bristol SAARC Gold Cup | |
| 1997 | No title sponsor | SAFF Gold Cup | |
| 1999 | Coca-Cola | SAFF Coca-Cola Cup | |
| 2003–2005 | No title sponsor | SAFF Gold Cup | |
| 2008 | SAFF Championship | ||
| 2009 | BEXIMCO | Bangabandhu SAFF Championship | |
| 2011 | Karbonn | Karbonn SAFF Championship | |
| 2013 | No title sponsor | SAFF Championship | |
| 2015–2018 | Suzuki | SAFF Suzuki Cup | |
| 2021 | Ooredoo | Ooredoo SAFF Championship | |
| 2023 | Bashundhara Toiletries | Bangabandhu SAFF Championship |
Results
| Ed. | Year | Hosts | Final | Third place playoff | No. of | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| teams | Champions | Score | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | |||||
| [1993](1993-saarc-gold-cup) | Pakistan | **** | **RR** | **RR** | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| [1995](1995-saarc-gold-cup) | Sri Lanka | **** | **1–0** | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| and | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [1997](1997-saff-gold-cup) | Nepal | **** | **5–1** | **1–0** | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| [1999](1999-saff-gold-cup) | India | **** | **2–0** | **2–0** | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| [2003](2003-saff-gold-cup) | Bangladesh | **** | **1–1** | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| **2–1** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2005](2005-saff-gold-cup) | Pakistan | **** | **2–0** | and | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| [2008](2008-saff-championship) | Maldives | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sri Lanka | **** | **1–0** | and | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2009](2009-saff-championship) | Bangladesh | **** | **0–0** | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| and | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2011](2011-saff-championship) | India | **** | **[4–0](2011-saff-championship-final)** | and | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| [2013](2013-saff-championship) | Nepal | **** | **[2–0](2013-saff-championship-final)** | and | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| [2015](2015-saff-championship) | India | **** | **[2–1](2015-saff-championship-final)** | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| and | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2018](2018-saff-championship) | Bangladesh | **** | **[2–1](2018-saff-championship-final)** | and | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| [2021](2021-saff-championship) | Maldives | **** | **[3–0](2021-saff-championship)** | **RR** | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| [2023](2023-saff-championship) | India | **** | **[1–1](2023-saff-championship-final)** | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| and | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2026](2026-saff-championship) | Sri Lanka |
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.
| Rank | Team | Part | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [1](1) | 14 | 62 | 39 | 15 | 8 | 108 | 38 | +70 | 132 |
| 2 | 12 | 50 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 98 | 52 | +46 | 86 | |
| 3 | 13 | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 52 | 47 | +5 | 66 | |
| 4 | 14 | 46 | 14 | 7 | 25 | 51 | 68 | −17 | 49 | |
| 5 | 13 | 41 | 13 | 7 | 21 | 48 | 65 | −17 | 46 | |
| 6 | 12 | 39 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 32 | 51 | −19 | 44 | |
| 7 | 7 | 27 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 48 | 42 | +6 | 40 | |
| 8 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 11 | |
| 9 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 10 | |
| 10 | 9 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 15 | 102 | −87 | 4 |
11Including India U23 team.
| Nation | Champions |
|---|---|
| 9 ([1993](1993-saarc-gold-cup), [1997](1997-saff-gold-cup), **[1999](1999-saff-gold-cup)**, [2005](2005-saff-gold-cup), [2009](2009-saff-championship), **[2011](2011-saff-championship)**, **[2015](2015-saff-championship)**, [2021](2021-saff-championship), **[2023](2023-saff-championship)**) | |
| 2 (**[2008](2008-saff-championship)**, [2018](2018-saff-championship)) | |
| 1 (**[2003](2003-saff-gold-cup)**) | |
| * | 1 ([2013](2013-saff-championship)) |
| 1 (**[1995](1995-saarc-gold-cup)**) | |
| – | |
| [3](3) | – |
| – | |
| – | |
| [3](3) | – |
:Bold = Hosts :* = No longer SAFF member :3 = Invited as guest teams from WAFF
Results by tournament
;Legend
- **** – Champions
- **** – Runners-up
- **** – Third place
- **** – Fourth place
- **** – 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
| Team | PAK | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [1993](1993-saarc-gold-cup) | SRI | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [1995](1995-saarc-gold-cup) | NEP | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [1997](1997-saff-gold-cup) | IND | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [1999](1999-saff-gold-cup) | BAN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2003](2003-saff-gold-cup) | PAK | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2005](2005-saff-gold-cup) | MDV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SRI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2008](2008-saff-championship) | BAN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2009](2009-saff-championship) | IND | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2011](2011-saff-championship) | NEP | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2013](2013-saff-championship) | IND | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2015](2015-saff-championship) | BAN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2018](2018-saff-championship) | MDV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2021](2021-saff-championship) | IND | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2023](2023-saff-championship) | SRI | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [2026](2026-saff-championship) | Total | 13 | 9 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 13 | Former team(s) | 7 | Guest teams | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| × | **SF** | GS | **2nd** | **1st** | **2nd** | GS | **SF** | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | **SF** | Q | ||||||||||||||
| Not part of SAFF | GS | GS | **SF** | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | **×** | GS | Q | |||||||||||||||||
| [2](2) | **1st** | **2nd** | **1st** | **1st** | **3rd** | **1st** | **2nd** | **1st** | **1st** | **2nd** | **1st** | **2nd** | **1st** | **1st** | Q | |||||||||||||
| × | **×** | **2nd** | **3rd** | **2nd** | **SF** | **1st** | **2nd** | **SF** | **SF** | **SF** | **1st** | GS | GS | Q | ||||||||||||||
| **3rd** | **SF** | GS | **4th** | GS | GS | GS | GS | **SF** | **SF** | GS | **SF** | **2nd** | GS | Q | ||||||||||||||
| **4th** | GS | **3rd** | GS | **4th** | **SF** | GS | GS | GS | GS | **×** | **SF** | DQ | GS | Q | ||||||||||||||
| **2nd** | **1st** | **4th** | GS | GS | GS | **SF** | **SF** | GS | GS | **SF** | GS | GS | DQ | Q | ||||||||||||||
| [3](3) | Not part of SAFF | GS | GS | GS | GS | **2nd** | **1st** | **2nd** | Part of CAFA | |||||||||||||||||||
| [4](4) | × | **2nd** | × | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [4](4) | × | **SF** | × |
11The third-place match was not played in 1995 and has not been played 2003 onwards.
22Including India U23 team.
33Left SAFF and joined CAFA in 2015.
44Invited as a guest team from the WAFF.
Top goalscorers
| Years | Player(s) | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | IND Inivalappil Mani Vijayan | 3 |
| 1995 | SRI Mohamed Amanulla | 3 |
| 1997 | IND Inivalappil Mani Vijayan | 6 |
| 1999 | IND Bhaichung Bhutia | 3 |
| BAN Mizanur Rahman Dawn | ||
| MDV Mohamed Wildhan | ||
| NEP Naresh Joshi | ||
| 2003 | PAK Sarfraz Rasool | 4 |
| 2005 | MDV Ali Ashfaq | 3 |
| MDV Ibrahim Fazeel | ||
| MDV Ahmed Thariq | ||
| 2008 | AFG Harez Habib | 4 |
| 2009 | BAN Enamul Haque | 4 |
| MDV Ahmed Thariq | ||
| SRI Channa Ediri Bandanage | ||
| 2011 | IND Sunil Chhetri | 7 |
| 2013 | MDV Ali Ashfaq | 10 |
| 2015 | AFG Khaibar Amani | 4 |
| 2018 | IND Manvir Singh | 3 |
| PAK Hassan Bashir | ||
| 2021 | IND Sunil Chhetri | 5 |
| 2023 | IND Sunil Chhetri | 5 |
Overall
| Rank | Nation | Player | Goals scored | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IND | Sunil Chhetri | 23 | |
| {{flagicon | MDV | Ali Ashfaq | ||
| 3 | IND | Bhaichung Bhutia | 12 | |
| 4 | MDV | Ibrahim Fazeel | 10 | |
| MDV | Ahmed Thariq |
Winning coaches
| Year | Team | Coach |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Czech Republic Jiří Pešek | |
| 1995 | BRA Jorge Perreira | |
| 1997 | IND Syed Nayeemuddin | |
| 1999 | IND Sukhwinder Singh | |
| 2003 | AUT George Kottan | |
| 2005 | IND Syed Nayeemuddin (2) | |
| 2008 | SVK Jozef Jankech | |
| 2009 | IND Sukhwinder Singh (2) | |
| 2011 | IND Savio Medeira | |
| 2013 | AFG Mohammad Yousef Kargar | |
| 2015 | ENG Stephen Constantine | |
| 2018 | CRO Petar Šegrt | |
| 2021 | CRO Igor Štimac | |
| 2023 | CRO Igor Štimac (2) |
Notes
References
References
- (3 August 2013). "From SAARC Gold Cup to SAFF Championship".
- "Infos at goalnepal.com".
- (27 July 2021). "We Will Try Our Best To Host SAFF 2021 Matches In Pokhara". Goal Nepal.
- "SAFF Ex.Co meeting approves home or away format for SAFF Championship 2025".
- Mukherjee, Soham. (9 September 2021). "SAFF Championship 2021: Everything you need to know".
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