South Asian Football Federation

(Redirected from SAFF)

South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) is an association of the football playing nations in South Asia which is a regional subsidiary of Asian Football Confederation, incorporated in 1997. The members of the association are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

South Asian Football Federation
AbbreviationSAFF
Formation1997; 27 years ago (1997)
TypeSports organization
HeadquartersBanani, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Region served
South Asia
Membership
7 member associations
Official language
English
Bangladesh Kazi Salahuddin
Bangladesh Anwarul Haq Helal
Parent organization
AFC
Websitesaffederation.org

History

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The SAFF was founded in 1997, with Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In 2000, they expanded to 7 members, adding Bhutan. Afghanistan joined in 2005, but left in 2015, to join then newly formed Central Asian Football Association.[1]

Presidents

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President Years
  P. P. Lakshmanan 1997–2001[2][3]
  Ganesh Thapa 2001–2009[4][3]
  Kazi Salahuddin 2009–2016[5][3]
  Ranjith Rodrigo (acting) 2016[6]
  Kazi Salahuddin 2016–present[5][3]

Member associations

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FIFA Code Association Founded SAFF affiliation Top tier league (men's) Top tier league (women's) National team
BAN   Bangladesh 1972 1997 Bangladesh Premier League Bangladesh Women's Football League
BHU   Bhutan 1983 2000 Bhutan Premier League Women's National League
IND   India 1937 1997 Indian Super League Indian Women's League
MDV   Maldives 1982 1997 Dhivehi Premier League
NEP     Nepal 1951 1997 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League National Women's league
PAK   Pakistan 1947 1997 Pakistan Premier League National Women Football Championship
SRI   Sri Lanka 1939 1997 Sri Lanka Super League

Former member

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Association SAFF membership duration Notes
  Afghanistan 2005–2015 Afghanistan joined SAFF in 2005, later left in 2015 to become a founding member of Central Asian Football Association (CAFA).

Competitions

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The South Asian Football Federation runs several competitions on subcontinental level.

National team

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Club

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The South Asian Football Federation announced in April 2011 that they had decided to start a new tournament for association football club sides, the SAFF Club Championship, with the inaugural edition to be held in Bangladesh from 1–15 September of the same year.[7] The competition was postponed and desires to revive the competition were again announced in July 2013 but the competition has still not started with accusations that India, the prime nation in the competition, were not altogether interested in participating.[8]

Sri Lanka was supposed to host the first edition in August 2014.[9]

A new possible start was set for December 2016 but later announced that 2017 would see the first edition.[10][11] This again was changed and announced that 2018 would be the start of the tournament.[12] But the Club Championship was never a reality and only remained as a plan on paper.

The 2024 SAFF Club Championship will be the inaugural edition of the SAFF Club Championship, the biennial international men's club football championship of South Asia organised by South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).[13]

Current title holders

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Competition Current Champions Details Runners-up Next
National teams
SAFF Championship 2023 India   Final   Kuwait 2025
South Asian Games 2019 Nepal     Final   Bhutan 2025
U-20 Championship 2024 Bangladesh   Final     Nepal 2025
U-17 Championship 2024 India   Final   Bangladesh 2025
Women's national teams
SAFF Women's Championship 2024 Bangladesh   Final   Nepal 2026
South Asian Games 2019 India   Final   Nepal 2025
U-19 Women's Championship 2024 Bangladesh  
India  
Final No runners-up 2025
U-16 Women's Championship 2024 Bangladesh   Final   India 2025

Titles by nation

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Nation National team Women's national team Total
SAFF SAG U18/U19/U20 U15/U16/U17 SAFF SAG U18/U19/U20 U15/U16/U17
  India 9 3 3 6 5 3 2 2 33
  Bangladesh 1 2 1 2 2 0 4 2 14
    Nepal 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 2 8
  Pakistan 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 5
  Maldives 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
  Sri Lanka 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
  Bhutan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Former member
  Afghanistan 1 0 0 0 0 1
Invited guest
  Russia†† 1 1
  Kuwait 0 0
  Lebanon 0 0
Total 14 13 6 9 7 3 6 7 65

Note: (†) Member from 2005 till 2015 , (††) The Russian Under-17 team was invited to the Under-17 tournament

Medals (1993-2024)

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Last Update: 2024 SAFF U-19 Women's Championship (Total: 44 Editions)

Exclude Football at the South Asian Games and SAFF Club Championship.

  1. SAFF Championship (1993-2023) - 14 Editions
  2. SAFF Women's Championship (2010-2022) - 6 Editions
  3. SAFF U-20 Championship (2015-2023) - 5 Editions
  4. SAFF U-20 Women's Championship (2018-2024) - 5 Editions
  5. SAFF U-17 Championship (2011-2023) - 8 Editions
  6. SAFF U-17 Women's Championship (2017-2023) - 6 Editions

SAFF teams at continental and global tournaments

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Legend
  •  1st  – Champion
  •  2nd  – Runner-up
  •  3rd  – Third place
  •  4th  – Fourth place
  • QF – Quarterfinals
  • R16 – Round of 16
  • GS – Group stage
  • 1S – First knockout stage
  •    — Did not qualify
  •  ••  — Qualified but withdrew
  •  ×  — Did not enter / withdrawn / banned / disqualified
  •  — Tournament was unavailable for the nation that year
  •     — Hosts

For each tournament, the flag of the host country and the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.

Senior

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Men's

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FIFA World Cup
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FIFA World Cup record
Team 1930
 
(13)
1934
 
(16)
1938
 
(15)
1950
 
(13)
1954
 
(16)
1958
 
(16)
1962
 
(16)
1966
 
(16)
1970
 
(16)
1974
 
(16)
1978
 
(16)
1982
 
(24)
1986
 
(24)
1990
 
(24)
1994
 
(24)
1998
 
(32)
2002
 
 
(32)
2006
 
(32)
2010
 
(32)
2014
 
(32)
2018
 
(32)
2022
 
(32)
2026
 
 
 
(48)
2030
 
 
 
 
 
 
(48)
Years Attempts
  Bangladesh Did not exist Not a FIFA member × TBD 0 11
  Bhutan Did not exist Not a FIFA member × × × × TBD 0 3
  India Not a FIFA member •• × × × × × × × × TBD 0 11
  Maldives Did not exist Not a FIFA member × × TBD 0 8
    Nepal Did not exist Not a FIFA member × × × × × TBD 0 9
  Pakistan Did not exist × × × × × × × × × × × TBD 0 9
  Sri Lanka Did not exist × × × × × × × × × × TBD 0 9
Former member
  Afghanistan Not a FIFA member Not a SAFF member Not a SAFF member 0 3
AFC Asian Cup
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Team  
1956
(4)
 
1960
(4)
 
1964
(4)
 
1968
(5)
 
1972
(6)
 
1976
(6)
 
1980
(10)
 
1984
(10)
 
1988
(10)
 
1992
(8)
 
1996
(12)
 
2000
(12)
 
2004
(16)
 
 
 
 
2007
(16)
 
2011
(16)
 
2015
(16)
 
2019
(24)
 
2023
(24)
 
2027
(24)
Total
  Bangladesh Part of   Pakistan × × GS × TBD 1
  India × 2nd × × × GS GS GS GS TBD 5

Asian Games men's football tournament

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Football at the Asian Games was a senior tournament until 1998.
Football at the Asian Games has been an under-23 tournament since 2002.
Nation  
1951
(6)
 
1954
(12)
 
1958
(14)
 
1962
(8)
 
1966
(11)
 
1970
(10)
 
1974
(15)
 
1978
(14)
 
1982
(16)
 
1986
(18)
 
1990
(14)
 
1994
(19)
 
1998
(23)
 
2002
(24)
 
2006
(28)
 
2010
(24)
 
2014
(29)
 
2018
(25)
 
2022
(23)
 
2026
(TBA)
Years
  Bangladesh Did not exist 13th 12th 14th 13th DQ 20th 24th 24th 20th 15th 20th 10
  India 1st 8th 4th 1st 8th 3rd 13th 8th 6th 16th DQ DQ 16th 10th 14th 14th 26th 9th 16
  Maldives Did not exist 20th 22nd 20th 17th 21st 5
    Nepal 16th 18th 18th 17th 29th 22nd 6
  Pakistan 6th 9th 11th 17th 14th 23rd 21st 22nd 24th 17th 10
Former member
  Afghanistan Not a SAFF member 25th Not a SAFF member 1

Women's

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AFC Women's Asian Cup
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Team  
1975
(6)
 
1977
(6)
 
1980
(6)
 
1981
(8)
 
1983
(6)
 
1986
(7)
 
1989
(8)
 
1991
(9)
 
1993
(8)
 
1995
(11)
 
1997
(11)
 
1999
(15)
 
2001
(14)
 
2003
(14)
 
2006
(9)
 
2008
(8)
 
2010
(8)
 
2014
(8)
 
2018
(8)
 
2022
(12)
 
2026
(12)
 
2029
(12)
Total
  India × × 2nd 3rd 2nd × × × × GS GS GS GS GS ••[a] TBD TBD 9
  Nepal × × × × × GS GS × × × × GS × × × × × × × TBD TBD 3
  1. ^ India failed to name the required 13 players and were unable to play their match of the group stage against Chinese Taipei due to them having only fewer than 13 players left with the remaining team members testing positive for COVID-19. They were considered to have withdrawn from the competition, and all previous matches played by them were considered "null and void" and would not be considered in determining the final group rankings.[14]

Asian Games Women's football tournament

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Nation  
1990
(6)
 
1994
(4)
 
1998
(8)
 
2002
(6)
 
2006
(8)
 
2010
(7)
 
2014
(11)
 
2018
(11)
 
2022
(16)
 
2026
(TBA)
Years
  Bangladesh 12th 1
  India 8th 9th 13th 3
  Maldives DQ 11th 10th 2
  Nepal 11th 1

Junior

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Men's U-20

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AFC U-20 Asian Cup
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Nation  
1959
 
1960
 
1961
 
1962
 
1963
 
1964
 
1965
 
1966
 
1967
 
1968
 
1969
 
1970
 
1971
 
1972
 
1973
 
1974
 
1975
 
1976
 
1977
 
1978
 
1980
 
1982
  Bangladesh × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × GS × GS GS 5th ×
  India × × × × GS GS GS QF QF GS × × QF GS GS 1st GS GS QF GS
    Nepal × × × × × × × × × × × × GS GS × GS × × × ×
  Pakistan × × × GS × × × × × × × × × × GS × × × × × ×
  Sri Lanka 8th × GS × GS × × GS QF × GS GS × × × × × GS × GS × ×
Nation  
1985
 
1986
 
1988
 
1990
 
1992
 
1994
 
1996
 
1998
 
2000
 
2002
 
2004
 
2006
 
2008
 
2010
 
2012
 
2014
 
2016
 
2018
 
2023
 
2025
Total
  Bangladesh × × GS GS × TBD 6
  India GS × GS GS × GS GS QF GS GS TBD 22
    Nepal × × × GS × TBD 4
  Pakistan × GS × × × × TBD 3
  Sri Lanka × GS × × × × × × TBD 10

Men's U-17

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FIFA U-17 World Cup
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Team 1985
 
(16)
1987
 
(16)
1989
 
(16)
1991
 
(16)
1993
 
(16)
1995
 
(16)
1997
 
(16)
1999
 
(16)
2001
 
(16)
2003
 
(16)
2005
 
(16)
2007
 
(24)
2009
 
(24)
2011
 
(24)
2013
 
(24)
2015
 
(24)
2017
 
(24)
2019
 
(24)
2023
 
(24)
2025
 
(48)
2026
 
(48)
Total
  India R1 TBD TBD 1
AFC U-17 Asian Cup
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Nation  
1985
 
1986
 
1988
 
1990
 
1992
 
1994
 
1996
 
1998
 
2000
 
2002
 
2004
 
2006
 
2008
 
2010
 
2012
 
2014
 
2016
 
2018
 
2023
 
2025
Total
  Bangladesh × GS GS GS GS × GS GS DQ × TBD 6
  India GS GS QF GS GS GS GS QF GS TBD 9
    Nepal × × × GS × GS GS × TBD 3
  Pakistan × × × × × × GS × × × TBD 1

Women's U-20

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AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup
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Team 2002
 
(12)
2004
 
(15)
2006
 
(8)
2007
 
(8)
2009
 
(8)
2011
 
(6)
2013
 
(6)
2015
 
(8)
2017
 
(8)
2019
 
(8)
2024
 
(8)
Total
  India GS QF GS 3
    Nepal GS 1

Women's U-17

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FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
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Team  
2008
(16)
 
2010
(16)
 
2012
(16)
 
2014
(16)
 
2016
(16)
 
2018
(16)
 
2022
(16)
 
2024
(16)
Total
  India GS 1
AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup
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Team 2005
 
(11)
2007
 
(6)
2009
 
(8)
2011
 
(6)
2013
 
(12)
2015
 
(8)
2017
 
(8)
2019
 
(8)
2024
 
(8)
Total
  Bangladesh GS × × × × GS GS 3
  India GS × 1

Rankings

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Rankings are calculated by FIFA.

Individual statistics

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Top goalscorer in men's football

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As of 10 November 2023
Players in bold are active international players.

Top goalscorer in women's football

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As of 20 June 2024
Players in bold are active international players.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Afghanistan to play SAFF Championship for the last time in 2015". 26 February 2014. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  2. ^ "News for the month of March 1999". Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d "About US". saffederation.org. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Ganesh Thapa no longer SAFF president". República Sports. Nepal Republic Media. 2009. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Salahuddin new SAFF president | the Daily Star". 3 October 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Bangladesh to host inaugural SAFF club championship". Zeenews.india.com. 18 April 2011. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Salauddin laments India's lack of initiative towards SAFF Club Championship". Goal India. 30 July 2013. Archived from the original on 27 May 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  9. ^ "First ever South Asian Club Championship to be played in Sri Lanka". SouthAsiaFootball.com. 13 March 2014. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  10. ^ "Ranjith Rodrigo appointed acting President of SAFF". dailynews.lk. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Bangladesh to host SAFF Suzuki Cup". maldivessoccer.com. 25 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  12. ^ "SAFF to hold biennial club tournament from 2018". Dawn. 6 October 2016. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  13. ^ Reporter, The Newspaper's Sports (7 May 2023). "SAFF announces start of club championship from next year". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  14. ^ "Latest update on the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022". Asian Football Confederation. 23 January 2022. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  15. ^ "The FIFA World Ranking (Men)". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  16. ^ "The FIFA World Ranking (Women)". FIFA. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
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