SAFF Championship

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 PeriodSponsorName1993No title sponsorSAARC Gold Cup1995Ceylon Tobacco CompanyBristol SAARC Gold Cup1997No title sponsorSAFF Gold Cup1999Coca-ColaSAFF Coca-Cola Cup2003–2005No title sponsorSAFF Gold Cup2008SAFF Championship2009BEXIMCOBangabandhu SAFF Championship2011KarbonnKarbonn SAFF Championship2013No title sponsorSAFF Championship2015–2018SuzukiSAFF Suzuki Cup2021OoredooOoredoo SAFF Championship2023Bashundhara ToiletriesBangabandhu SAFF Championship2026Tecno MobileTecno SAFF ChampionshipSource: GSA

Results YearHostsFinalThird place playoffChampionsScoreRunners-upThird placeScoreFourth place11993RRRR4219951–0 and 5319975–11–06419992–02–06520031–1 2–18620052–0 and 8720081–0 and 8820090–0 and 8920114–0 and 81020132–0 and 81120152–1 and 71220182–1 and 71320213–0RR51420231–1 and 81520266

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.

RankTeamPartPldWDLGFGAGDPts1114623915810838+70132212502511149852+4686313461812165247+56641446147255168−17495 1341137214865−174661239128193251−19447727124114842+64081532092+71191431071+61010927112515102−874

1Including India U23 team.

NationChampions9 (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021, 2023)4 (1995, 2008, 2013, 2018)1 (2003)––2 (2008, 2018)3 (1997, 2003, 2009)2 (1999, 2021) –4 (2005, 2011, 2013, 2015)1 (2003)2 (1999, 2005)1 (1995)1 (2021)3 (1995, 2009, 2023)*1 (2013)2 (2011, 2015) – – –1 (1995)1 (1993) –1 (1997)3 (2008, 2009, 2015) –1 (2021)1 (1993)2 (1995, 1999)3 (2011, 2013, 2018)3–1 (2023) ––– – –1 (1997)2 (1993, 2003)2 (2005, 2018) – – – –1 (2008)3––––1 (2023)

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 1993 1995 1997 1999 2003 2005 2008 2009 2011 2013 2015 2018 2021 2023 2026 Total ×SF GS2nd1st2nd GSSF GS GS GS GS GSSF Q 13 Not part of SAFF GS GSSF GS GS GS GS GS × GS Q 921st2nd1st1st3rd1st2nd1st1st2nd1st2nd1st1st Q 14 × ×2nd3rd2ndSF1st2ndSFSFSF1st GS GS Q 123rdSF GS4th GS GS GS GSSFSF GSSF2nd GS Q 144th GS3rd GS4thSF GS GS GS GS ×SF DQ GS Q 122nd1st4th GS GS GSSFSF GS GSSF GS GS DQ Q 13Former team(s)3 Not part of SAFF GS GS GS GS2nd1st2nd Part of CAFA 7Guest teams4 ×2nd × 14 ×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

YearsPlayer(s)Goals1993 Inivalappil Mani Vijayan31995 Mohamed Amanulla31997 Inivalappil Mani Vijayan61999 Mizanur Rahman Dawn3 Bhaichung Bhutia Mohamed Wildhan Naresh Joshi2003 Sarfraz Rasool42005 Ali Ashfaq3 Ibrahim Fazeel Ahmed Thariq2008 Harez Habib42009 Enamul Haque4 Ahmed Thariq Channa Ediri Bandanage2011 Sunil Chhetri72013 Ali Ashfaq102015 Khaibar Amani42018 Manvir Singh3 Hassan Bashir2021 Sunil Chhetri52023 Sunil Chhetri5

Overall

+ Players with 10 or more goalsRankNationPlayerGoals scored1Sunil Chhetri 23Ali Ashfaq3Bhaichung Bhutia124Ibrahim Fazeel10Ahmed Thariq

Winning coaches

YearTeamCoach1993 Jiří Pešek1995 Jorge Perreira1997 Syed Nayeemuddin1999 Sukhwinder Singh2003 George Kottan2005 Syed Nayeemuddin 2008 Jozef Jankech2009 Sukhwinder Singh 2011 Savio Medeira2013 Mohammad Yousef Kargar2015 Stephen Constantine2018 Petar Šegrt2021 Igor Štimac2023 Igor Štimac

SAFF Championship

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