South_Asian_Football_Federation
South Asian Football Federation
Football association
"SAFF" redirects here. Not to be confused with Saudi Arabian Football Federation.
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.
Quick Facts Abbreviation, Formation ...
Emblem of the SAFF | |
Location of members in Asia | |
| Abbreviation | SAFF |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1997; 27 years ago (1997) |
| Type | Sports organization |
| Headquarters | Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh |
Region served | South Asia |
Membership | 7 member associations |
Official language | English |
 Kazi Salahuddin | |
| Anwarul Haq Helal | |
Parent organization | AFC |
| Website | saffederation |
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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]
More information President, Years ...
| President | Years |
|---|---|
 P. P. Lakshmanan | 1997–2001[2][3] |
 Ganesh Thapa | 2001–2009[4][3] |
| Kazi Salahuddin | 2009–2016[5][3] |
 Ranjith Rodrigo* |
2016–2016 |
| Kazi Salahuddin |
2016–present[5][3] |
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- *Due to health issues in 2016,
Ranjith Rodrigo replaced Salahuddin as acting president for two months.[6]
More information FIFA Code, Association ...
| 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 |
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Former member
More information Association, SAFF membership duration ...
| 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). |
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The South Asian Football Federation runs several competitions on subcontinental level.
National team
Club
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
See also: Portal:Current events/Sports, 2024 in association football, 2024 in sports, and FIFA International Match Calendar
For events postponed or cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, see Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports.
More information Competition, Current ...
| Competition | Current | Champions | Details | Runners-up | Next | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National teams | |||||||
| SAFF Championship | 2023 | India |
Final |  Kuwait |
2025 | ||
| South Asian Games | 2019 | Nepal |
Final | Bhutan |
2024 | ||
| U-19 Championship | 2023 | India |
Final | Pakistan |
2024 | ||
| U-16 Championship | 2023 | India |
Final | Bangladesh |
2024 | ||
| Women's national teams | |||||||
| SAFF Women's Championship | 2022 | Bangladesh |
Final |  Nepal |
2024 | ||
| South Asian Games | 2019 | India |
Final | Nepal |
2024 | ||
| U-19 Women's Championship | 2024 | Bangladesh India |
Final | No runners-up | 2025 | ||
| U-16 Women's Championship | 2024 | Bangladesh |
Final | India |
2025 | ||
| Club teams | |||||||
| SAFF Club Championship | 2024 | — | — | — | 2025 | ||
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Titles by nation
More information Nation, National team (men's) ...
| Nation | National team (men's) | National team (women's) | Club | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAFF | SAG | U18/U19/U20 | U15/U16/U17 | SAFF | SAG | U18/U19/U20 | U15/U16/U17 | SCC | ||
| India |
9 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | – | 32 |
| Bangladesh |
1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | – | 12 |
| 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 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 7 | – | 61 |
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Note: (†) Member from 2005 till 2015 , (††) The Russian Under-17 team was invited to the Under-17 tournament
Last Update: 2024 SAFF U-19 Women's Championship (Total: 44 Editions)
Exclude Football at the South Asian Games and SAFF Club Championship.
- SAFF Championship (1993-2023) - 14 Editions
- SAFF Women's Championship (2010-2022) - 6 Editions
- SAFF U-20 Championship (2015-2023) - 5 Editions
- SAFF U-20 Women's Championship (2018-2024) - 5 Editions
- SAFF U-17 Championship (2011-2023) - 8 Editions
- SAFF U-17 Women's Championship (2017-2023) - 6 Editions
Without Semifinal Losers
More information Rank, Nation ...
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India (IND) | 25 | 10 | 6 | 41 |
| 2 | Bangladesh (BAN) | 10 | 12 | 4 | 26 |
| 3 | Nepal (NEP) | 4 | 12 | 8 | 24 |
| 4 | Maldives (MDV) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 | Pakistan (PAK) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 |  Afghanistan (AFG) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Sri Lanka (SRI) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Russia (RUS) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Kuwait (KUW) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Bhutan (BHU) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Totals (10 entries) | 45 | 43 | 24 | 112 | |
Close
- Share gold in 2024 SAFF U-19 Women's Championship.
With Semifinal Losers
More information Rank, Nation ...
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India (IND) | 25 | 10 | 7 | 42 |
| 2 | Bangladesh (BAN) | 10 | 12 | 12 | 34 |
| 3 | Nepal (NEP) | 4 | 12 | 15 | 31 |
| 4 | Maldives (MDV) | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 |
| 5 | Pakistan (PAK) | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 6 | Afghanistan (AFG) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | Sri Lanka (SRI) | 1 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| 8 | Russia (RUS) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Kuwait (KUW) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Bhutan (BHU) | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 11 | Lebanon (LBN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (11 entries) | 45 | 43 | 63 | 151 | |
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- Share gold in 2024 SAFF U-19 Women's Championship.
- 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
Men's
FIFA World Cup
Main article: National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup
See also: Asian nations at the FIFA World Cup
More information FIFA World Cup record, Team ...
| 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 | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | TBD | 0 | 10 | ||||||||
| Bhutan |
× | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | TBD | 0 | 3 |
| India |
did not exist | •• | ‡ | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | TBD | 0 | 10 | ||
| Maldives |
did not exist | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | 0 | 8 | ||||||
| Nepal |
× | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | × | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | TBD | TBD | 0 | 8 |
| Pakistan |
did not exist | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | TBD | 0 | 8 | ||
| Sri Lanka |
did not exist | ‡ | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | 0 | 9 | ||
| Former member | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Afghanistan |
Not member of FIFA | Not a SAFF member | • | • | • | Not a SAFF member | 0 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
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AFC Asian Cup
More information Team, 1956 (4) ...
| 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 |
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More information Teams, 2006 (16) ...
AFC Challenge Cup
|
AFC Solidarity Cup
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Asian Games men's football tournament
- Football at the Asian Games was a senior tournament until 1998.
- Football at the Asian Games has been an under-23 tournament since 2002.
More information Nation, 1951 (6) ...
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||
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Women's
AFC Women's Asian Cup
More information Team, 1975 (6) ...
| 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 | • | • | • | • | • | ••[lower-alpha 1] | TBD | TBD | 9 |
| Nepal |
× | × | × | × | × | GS | GS | × | × | × | × | GS | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | TBD | TBD | 3 |
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- 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
Junior
Men's U-20
AFC U-20 Asian Cup
More information Nation ...
| 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 | × | × |
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Men's U-17
FIFA U-17 World Cup
AFC U-17 Asian Cup
Women's U-20
AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup
Women's U-17
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup
Rankings are calculated by FIFA.
More information AFC, FIFA ...
Men's national teams
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Leading men's team: Unable to compile EasyTimeline input: EasyTimeline 1.90
Specify attributes as 'name:value' pairs.
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Women's national teams
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Leading women's team: 
|
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Top goalscorer in men's football
- As of 10 November 2023
More information #, Name ...
By number of goals(Players with at least 20 goals)
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By country(only highest goalscorers from each country)
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- Players in bold are active international players.
Top goalscorer in women's football
- As of 20 August 2022
More information #, Name ...
By number of goals(Players with at least 30 goals)
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By country(only highest goalscorers from each country)
|
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- Players in bold are active international players.
- FIFA
- Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
- ASEAN Football Federation (AFF)
- East Asian Football Federation (EAFF)
- Central Asian Football Association (CAFA)
- West Asian Football Federation (WAFF)
- Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
- "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.
- "News for the month of March 1999". Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
- "About US". saffederation.org. Archived from the original on 18 May 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- "Ganesh Thapa no longer SAFF president". República Sports. Nepal Republic Media. 2009. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
- "Salahuddin new SAFF president | the Daily Star". 3 October 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - "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.
- "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.
- "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.
- "Ranjith Rodrigo appointed acting President of SAFF". dailynews.lk. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- "Bangladesh to host SAFF Suzuki Cup". maldivessoccer.com. 25 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
- "SAFF to hold biennial club tournament from 2018". Dawn. 6 October 2016. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
- 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.
- "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.
- "The FIFA World Ranking (Men)". FIFA. 15 February 2024. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
- "The FIFA World Ranking (Women)". FIFA. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
- South Asian Football Federation Cup at RSSSF
- South Asia Football – SAFF website (archived)