South Asian Football Federation

South Asian Football Federation
	File:SouthAsianFootballFederation logo.png Logo of South Asian Football Federation (SAFF)
	Map of members
Abbreviation	SAFF
Formation	1997; 27 years ago
Type	Sports organization
Headquarters	Dhaka, Bangladesh
Membership	7 member associations
President	Kazi Salahuddin
General Secretary	Anwarul Huq
Parent organization	AFC
Website	saffederation.org

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 Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

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. Lakshmanan	1997–2001^[2]
Ganesh Thapa	2001–2009^[3]
Kazi Salahuddin	2009*–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	Bangladesh	1972	1997	Bangladesh Premier League	Bangladesh Women's Football League	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
BHU	Bhutan	1983	2000	Bhutan National League	Women's National League	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
IND	India	1937	1997	Indian Super League	Indian Women's League	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
MDV	Maldives	1982	1997	Dhivehi Premier League		Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
NEP	Nepal	1951	1997	Martyr's Memorial A-Division League	National Women's league	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
PAK	Pakistan	1947	1997	Pakistan Premier League	National Women Football Championship	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17
SRI	Sri Lanka	1939	1997	Sri Lanka Super League		Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17

Former member

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

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

National team

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

Competitions (men's)
Competition	Last Edition	Champions	Title	Runners-up	Next edition	Probable dates
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	July – August 2023
U-15/U-16/U-17 Men's C'ship	2022	India	4th	Nepal	2023	September – October 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 Women's C'ship	2022	India	1st	Bangladesh	2023	3–13 February 2023
U-15 Women's C'ship	2022	Nepal	1st	Bangladesh	TBD	TBD
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
Nation	SAFF	SAG	U18/U19/U20	U15/U16/U17	SAFF	SAG	U18/U19/U20	U15/U16/U17	Total
India	8	3	2	4	5	3	1	2	28
Bangladesh	1	2	0	2	1	0	2	1	9
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	0
Former member
Afghanistan†	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	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.

Senior

Men's

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														•	•	•	•	•	TBD	0	5

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)	Total
Bangladesh	Part of Pakistan				×	×	GS	•	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	1
India	×	•	2nd	•	×	×	×	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS	•	GS	q	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

Women's

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)	Total
India			2nd	3rd	2nd					GS	GS	GS	GS	GS						••^[a]	9
Nepal						GS	GS					GS									3

^ 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]

Junior

Men's U-20

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	×	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	×	×
Former member
Afghanistan	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	GS	×	QF	GS	×	×

Nation	1985	1986	1988	1990	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000	2002	2004	2006	2008	2010	2012	2014	2016	2018	Total
Bangladesh	•	×	•	•	•	×	GS	•	•	GS	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	•	6
India	•	GS	×	GS	GS	×	GS	GS	•	QF	GS	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	22
Nepal	×	•	×	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	GS	•	•	•	×	•	•	•	4
Pakistan	•	•	•	•	•	×	•	•	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	×	×	×	3
Sri Lanka	×	GS	×	•	×	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	×	•	×	×	•	•	10
Former member
Afghanistan	×	•	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	•	×	DQ	•	×	•	Not a SAFF member		3

Men's U-17

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	•	TBD	1

AFC U-17 Asian Cup

Nation	1985	1986	1988	1990	1992	1994	1996	1998	2000	2002	2004	2006	2008	2010	2012	2014	2016	2018	Total
Bangladesh	×	GS	•	•	GS	•	•	GS	GS	×	GS	GS	DQ	•	•	×	•	•	6
India	•	•	•	GS	•	•	GS	•	•	QF	GS	•	GS	•	GS	•	GS	QF	8
Nepal	•	×	•	•	•	×	×	•	GS	×	•	GS	•	•	•	GS	×	•	3
Pakistan	×	×	×	×	•	×	×	•	•	GS	×	•	•	•	•	•	×	×	1
Former member
Afghanistan	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	•	×	×	•	DQ	•	Not a SAFF member		1

Women's U-20

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)	2022 (8)	Total
India	GS	QF	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	•		3
Nepal	•	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•		1

Women's U-17

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

Team	2008 (16)	2010 (16)	2012 (16)	2014 (16)	2016 (16)	2018 (16)	2022 (16)	Total
India	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS	1

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	×	×	×	×	•	GS	GS		3
India	GS	×	•	•	•	•	•	•		1

Rankings

Rankings are calculated by FIFA.

Men's National Teams

AFC	FIFA	Country	Points	+/−
19	106	India	1192.09	2
29	154	Maldives	1026.09	2
35	175	Nepal	954.86	1
39	185	Bhutan	910.96	1
42	192	Bangladesh	883.18
43	194	Pakistan	866.81	1
46	207	Sri Lanka	825.25

Last updated: 6 October 2022^[13]

Leading Men's Team:

Women's National Teams

AFC	FIFA	Country	Points
12	61	India	1405.79
21	103	Nepal	1195.36
28	140	Bangladesh	1054.55
33	156	Sri Lanka	955.21
34	159	Maldives	938.55
36	160	Pakistan	928.40
37	177	Bhutan	777.27

Last updated: 13 October 2022^[14]

Leading Women's team:

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:

By number of goals

(Players with at least 20 goals)

#	Name	Career	Goals	Caps	Avg/Game
1	Sunil Chhetri (list)	2005–present	84	129	0.65
2	Ali Ashfaq (list)	2003–2021	57	89	0.64
3	Inivalappil Mani Vijayan (list)	1989–2004	32	70	0.44
4	Kasun Jayasuriya (list)	2000–2009	27	55	0.49
4	Baichung Bhutia (list)	1995–2011	27	82	0.33
6	Jeje Lalpekhlua (list)	2009–2019	23	54	0.41
6	Shabbir Ali	1974–1984	23	66	0.35

By country

(only highest goalscorers from each country)

#	Name	Career	Goals	Caps	Avg/Game
1	Sunil Chhetri (list)	2005-present	84	129	0.65
2	Ali Ashfaq (list)	2003–2021	57	89	0.64
3	Kasun Jayasuriya (list)	2000–2009	27	55	0.49
4	Ashraf Uddin Ahmed Chunnu (list)	1975–1985	17	50	0.34
5	Nirajan Rayamajhi (list)	2002–2010	12	19	0.63
6	Muhammad Essa (list)	2000–2009	11	37	0.3
7	Chencho Gyeltshen (list)	2011–present	10	35	0.29

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:

By number of goals

(Players with at least 30 goals)

#	Name	Career	Goals	Caps	Avg/Game
1	Bala Devi	2010–present	52	58	0.9
2	Sasmita Malik	2007–2017	40	38	1.05
3	Sabitra Bhandari	2014–present	38	34	1.12
4	Sabina Khatun	2009–present	31	46	0.67

By country

(only highest goalscorers from each country)

#	Name	Career	Goals	Caps	Avg/Game
1	Bala Devi	2010–present	52	58	0.9
2	Sabitra Bhandari	2014–present	38	34	1.12
3	Sabina Khatun	2009–present	31	46	0.67

Players in bold are active international players.

References

^ "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.
^ "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.
^ "Latest update on the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022". Asian Football Confederation. 23 January 2022.
^ "FIFA World Ranking (Men)". FIFA. 6 October 2022.
^ "The FIFA World Ranking (Women)". FIFA. 5 August 2022.

External links

South Asian Football Federation Cup at RSSSF
South Asia Football – SAFF website (archived)

[13] 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]

[Afghanistan_leaving_SAFF-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.

[bangladeshtohost2017-10] "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.

[India-12] "Latest update on the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022". Asian Football Confederation. 23 January 2022.

[14] "FIFA World Ranking (Men)". FIFA. 6 October 2022.

[15] "The FIFA World Ranking (Women)". FIFA. 5 August 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

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v t e SAFF Championship
Tournaments	Pakistan 1993 Sri Lanka 1995 Nepal 1997 India 1999 Bangladesh 2003 Pakistan 2005 Maldives/Sri Lanka 2008 Bangladesh 2009 India 2011 Nepal 2013 India 2015 Bangladesh 2018 Maldives 2021 India 2023
Squads	1995 1999 2003 2005 2008 2009 2011 2013 2015 2018 2021 2023
Finals	2011 2013 2015 2018 2021 2023

v t e South Asian Football Federation (SAFF)
International competitions	SAFF Championship South Asian Games Women's Championship SAFF Club Championship
Youth competitions	U-20 Championship U-17 Championship U-18 Women's Championship U-15 Women's Championship
Member associations	Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka
Football in South Asian countries	Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka
National teams	Bangladesh M W Bhutan M W India M W Maldives M W Nepal M W Pakistan M W Sri Lanka M W
Domestic leagues	Bangladesh M W Bhutan M India M W Maldives M Nepal M W Pakistan M W Sri Lanka M
SAFF FIFA AFC

v t e National men's football teams of Asia (AFC)
AFC Asian Cup
West Asia (WAFF)	Bahrain Iraq Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Oman Palestine Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria United Arab Emirates Yemen
Central Asia (CAFA)	Afghanistan Iran Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan
South Asia (SAFF)	Bangladesh Bhutan India Maldives Nepal Pakistan Sri Lanka
East Asia (EAFF)	China Chinese Taipei¹ Guam Hong Kong Japan Macau Mongolia North Korea Northern Mariana Islands² South Korea
Southeast Asia (AFF)	Australia Brunei Cambodia East Timor Indonesia Laos Malaysia Myanmar Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam
Defunct	Malaya Manchukuo North Vietnam South Vietnam South Yemen
Former	Israel (moved to UEFA in 1994) Kazakhstan (moved to UEFA in 2002) New Zealand (formed the OFC in 1966)
¹ Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, competes as "Chinese Taipei" ² Not a member of FIFA