South Asian Football Federation

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

"SAFF" redirects here. Not to be confused with Saudi Arabian Football Federation.

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

History

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

Presidents
President Years
P. P. Lakshmanan1997–2001[2]
Ganesh Thapa2001–2009[3]
Kazi Salahuddin2009*–present[4]
*Due to health issues in 2016, Ranjith Rodrigo replaced Salahuddin as acting president for two months.[5]

Member associations
FIFA Code Association Founded SAFF affiliation Top tier league (men's) Top tier league (women's) National team
BAN Bangladesh19721997Bangladesh Premier LeagueBangladesh Women's Football League
BHU Bhutan19832000Bhutan Premier LeagueWomen's National League
IND India19371997Indian Super LeagueIndian Women's League
MDV Maldives19821997Dhivehi Premier League
NEP   Nepal19511997Martyr's Memorial A-Division LeagueNational Women's league
PAK Pakistan19471997Pakistan Premier LeagueNational Women Football Championship
SRI Sri Lanka19391997Sri Lanka Super League

Former member
Association SAFF membership duration Notes
 Afghanistan2005–2015Afghanistan joined SAFF in 2005, later left in 2015 to become a founding member of Central Asian Football Association (CAFA).

Competitions
See also: List of association football competitions and FIFA International Match Calendar

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

Men's

Women's

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.[6] However 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, are not altogether interested in participating.[7]

Sri Lanka was supposed to host first edition in August 2014.[8] That however did not happen.

A new possible start was set for December 2016 but later announced that 2017 would see the first edition.[9][10] This again was changed and announced that 2018 would be the start of the tournament.[11] But the Club Championship was never a reality and only remained as a plan on paper.

Current title holders
See also: Portal:Current events/Sports, 2023 in association football, 2023 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.
Competition Last Edition Champions Title Runners-up Next edition Probable dates
Competitions (men's)
Men's C'ship 2021  India 8th    Nepal 2023 July 2023
South Asian Games (Men's) 2019    Nepal 4th  Bhutan 2023 March 2024
U-18/U-19/U-20 Men's C'ship 2022  India 2nd  Bangladesh 2023 1–13 July 2023
U-15/U-16/U-17 Men's C'ship 2022  India 4th    Nepal 2023 1 – 13 September 2023
Competitions (women's)
Women's C'ship 2022  Bangladesh 1st    Nepal TBD TBD
South Asian Games (Women's) 2019  India 3rd    Nepal 2023 March 2024
U-18/U-19/U-20 Women's C'ship 2023  Bangladesh 3rd    Nepal 2024 TBD 2024
U-15/U-17 Women's C'ship 2022    Nepal 1st  Bangladesh 2023 20–38 March 2023
International club competition (men's)
SAFF Club C'ship 2023 TBD 1st TBD TBD TBD

Titles by nation
Nation National team (men's) National team (women) Total
SAFF SAG U18/U19/U20 U15/U16/U17 SAFF SAG U18/U19/U20 U15/U16/U17
 India 83245312 28
 Bangladesh 12021021 9
   Nepal 04200002 8
 Pakistan 04010000 5
 Maldives 20000000 2
 Sri Lanka 10000000 1
 Bhutan 00000000 0
Former member
 Afghanistan† 10000000 1
Total 13 13 4 7 6 3 3 5 54

Note: (†) Member from 2005 till 2015

SAFF teams at continental and global tournaments
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.

FIFA World Cup
Main article: National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup
See also: Asian nations at the FIFA World Cup
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)		 Years Attempts
 Bangladesh did not exist × × × • • • • • • • • • • TBD 0 10
 Bhutan × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × • • TBD 0 2
 India did not exist •• ‡ × × × × × × × • × • • • • • • • • TBD 0 10
 Maldives did not exist × × × × × × × × • • • • • • • TBD 0 7
   Nepal × × × × × × × × × × × × • • × • • × • • • • TBD 0 8
 Pakistan did not exist × × × × × × × × × × × • • • • • • • • TBD 0 8
 Sri Lanka did not exist ‡ × × × × × × × × × × • • • • • • • • TBD 0 8
Former member
 Afghanistan did not exist Not a SAFF member • • • Not a SAFF member 0 3
AFC Asian Cup
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 ו2nd•×××GS••••••GS•GSQTBD 5
AFC Challenge Cup
Teams
2006
(16)
2008
(8)
2010
(8)
2012
(8)
2014
(8)		 Total
 Bangladesh QF • GS • • 2
 Bhutan GS • • • • 1
 India QF 1st GS GS • 4
 Maldives ‡ ‡ • GS 3rd 2
   Nepal SF GS • GS • 3
 Pakistan GS • • • • 1
 Sri Lanka 2nd GS GS • • 3
Former member
 Afghanistan GS GS × • 4th 3
AFC Solidarity Cup
Teams
2016
(7)		 Total
 Bangladesh × 0
 Bhutan ‡ 0
   Nepal 1st 1
 Pakistan × 0
 Sri Lanka GS 1
AFC Women's Asian Cup
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)		 Total
 India × × 2nd 3rd 2nd × × × × GS GS GS GS GS • • • • • ••[lower-alpha 1] TBD 9
   Nepal × × × × × GS GS × × × × GS × × × × × × × • 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.[12]
AFC U-20 Asian Cup
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×GSGS 5th ×
 India ××××GSGSGSQFQFGS××QFGSGS1stGSGSQFGS • •
   Nepal ××××××××××××GSGS×GS×××× • •
 Pakistan ×××GS××××××××××GS××××× × •
 Sri Lanka 8th×GS×GS××GSQF×GSGS×××××GS×GS × ×
Nation
1985
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2023		Total
 Bangladesh•×•••×GS••GS••×••••• •6
 India•GS×GSGS×GSGS•QFGSGS•••••• •22
   Nepalוו•×••••GS•••×••• •4
 Pakistan•••••×••GS••••••××× ×3
 Sri Lanka×GSוו•×••••×•×ו• •10
FIFA U-17 World Cup
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)		 Total
 India ••••••••••••••••R1•TBD1
AFC U-17 Asian Cup
Nation
1985
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2018
2023		Total
 Bangladesh ×GS••GS••GSGS×GSGSDQ••×•••6
 India •••GS••GS••QFGS•GS•GS•GSQFq8
   Nepal •×•••×וGSוGS•••GSו•3
 Pakistan ×××ו×ו•GSו••••×ו1
AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup
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 GSQFGS••••••••3
   Nepal •GS•••••••••1
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
Team
2008
(16)
2010
(16)
2012
(16)
2014
(16)
2016
(16)
2018
(16)
2022
(16)		 Total
 India ••••••GS1
AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup
Team 2005

(11)		 2007

(6)		 2009

(8)		 2011

(6)		 2013

(12)		 2015

(8)		 2017

(8)		 2019

(8)		 2024

(8)		 Total
 Bangladesh GS×××וGSGS3
 India GSו•••••1

Rankings

Rankings are calculated by FIFA.

Individual statistics

Top goalscorer in men's football
As of 20 August 2022, the players with most goals scored in career from South Asia (SAFF) are:
Players in bold are active international players.

Top goalscorer in women's football
As of 20 August 2022, the players with most goals scored in career from South Asia (SAFF) are:
Players in bold are active international players.

References
  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. "Ganesh Thapa no longer SAFF president". República Sports. Nepal Republic Media. 2009. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  4. "Salahuddin new SAFF president | the Daily Star". 3 October 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "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.
  7. "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.
  8. "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.
  9. "Ranjith Rodrigo appointed acting President of SAFF". dailynews.lk. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  10. "Bangladesh to host SAFF Suzuki Cup". maldivessoccer.com. 25 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  11. "SAFF to hold biennial club tournament from 2018". Dawn. 6 October 2016. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  12. "Latest update on the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022". Asian Football Confederation. 23 January 2022.
  13. "FIFA World Ranking (Men)". FIFA. 22 December 2022.
  14. "The FIFA World Ranking (Women)". FIFA. 9 December 2022.
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