South Asian Football Federation

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

South Asian Football Federation

Map of members
Abbreviation	SAFF
Formation	1997; 28 years ago (1997)
Type	Sports organization
Headquarters	Banani, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Region served	South Asia
Membership	7 member associations
Official language	English
President	Kazi Salahuddin
General Secretary	Anwarul Haq Helal
Parent organization	AFC
Website	saffederation.org

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.

History

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

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

Code	Association	Joined in	National team	National league
BAN	Bangladesh	1997	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17 F	(Men, Women)
BHU	Bhutan	2000	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17 F	(Men, Women)
IND	India	1997	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17 F	(Men, Women)
MDV	Maldives	1997	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17 F	(Men, Women)
NEP	Nepal	1997	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17 F	(Men, Women)
PAK	Pakistan	1997	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17 F	(Men, Women)
SRI	Sri Lanka	1997	Men's U23 U20 U17 U15 F BS Women's W U23 W U20 W U17 F	(Men)

Former member

Association	Year	Note
Afghanistan	2005–2015	Joined 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.

National teams

Men SAFF Championship SAFF U-23 Championship SAFF U-20 Championship SAFF U-17 Championship South Asian Games

Women SAFF Women's Championship SAFF U-20 Women's Championship SAFF U-17 Women's Championship South Asian Games

Clubs

Men SAFF Club Championship

Women SAFF Women's Club Championship

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]

In January 2025, SAFF announced three new competitions: SAFF Club Championship, SAFF Women's Club Championship and the SAFF U-23 Championship.[13]

Current title holders

See also: Portal:Current events/Sports, 2025 in association football, 2025 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		Year	Champions	Details	Runners-up		Next
National teams
SAFF Championship		2023	India	Final	Kuwait		2025
U-23 Championship							2026
U-20 Championship		2024	Bangladesh	Final	Nepal		2025
U-17 Championship		2024	India	Final	Bangladesh		2025
South Asian Games		2019	Nepal	Final	Bhutan		2025
Women's national teams
SAFF Women's Championship		2024	Bangladesh	Final	Nepal		2026
U-19 Women's Championship		2024	Bangladesh  India	Final	No runners-up		2025
U-16 Women's Championship		2024	Bangladesh	Final	India		2025
South Asian Games		2019	India	Final	Nepal		2025
Club teams
SAFF Club Championship							2026
Women's club teams
Women's Club Championship							2025

Titles by nation

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)

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

Without Semifinal Losers 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

With Semifinal Losers 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

• Note:  Bangladesh and  India shared gold in 2024 SAFF U-19 Women's Championship.

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

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)	2030 (48)	2022 (48)	Total	Attempts
Bangladesh	Did not exist									Not a FIFA member		×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	0	11
Bhutan	Did not exist												Not a FIFA member				×	×	×	×	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	0	3
India	Not a FIFA member			••	‡	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	•	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	0	11
Maldives	Did not exist												Not a FIFA member	×	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	0	8
Nepal	Did not exist				Not a FIFA member					×	×	×	•	•	×	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	0	9
Pakistan	Did not exist			×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	0	9
Sri Lanka	Did not exist			‡	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	0	9
Former member
Afghanistan	Not a FIFA member			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	×	•	2nd	•	×	×	×	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS	•	GS	GS	TBD	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

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.

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)	Total
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

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)	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

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

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	×	×

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	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	6
India	•	GS	×	GS	GS	×	GS	GS	•	QF	GS	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	22
Nepal	×	•	×	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	GS	•	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	•	4
Pakistan	•	•	•	•	•	×	•	•	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	×	×	×	×	×	3
Sri Lanka	×	GS	×	•	×	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	×	•	×	×	•	•	•	•	10

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)	2025 (48)	2026 (48)	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	2023	2025	Total
Bangladesh	×	GS	•	•	GS	•	•	GS	GS	×	GS	GS	DQ	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	6
India	•	•	•	GS	•	•	GS	•	•	QF	GS	•	GS	•	GS	•	GS	QF	GS	•	9
Nepal	•	×	•	•	•	×	×	•	GS	×	•	GS	•	•	•	GS	×	•	•	•	3
Pakistan	×	×	×	×	•	×	×	•	•	GS	×	•	•	•	•	•	×	×	•	×	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)	2024 (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)	2024 (16)	2025 (24)	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 SAFF AFC FIFA Country Points +/− Highest Lowest 1 23 127  India 1133.62 94 173 2 32 162  Maldives 1001.39 124 183 3 35 175    Nepal 939.2 124 196 4 37 183  Bhutan 904.1 159 209 5 39 185  Bangladesh 898.81 110 197 6 44 197  Pakistan 842.59 141 205 7 45 200  Sri Lanka 820.32 122 207 Last updated: 28 November 2024[15]

Leading men's team:

Women's national teams SAFF AFC FIFA Country Points +/− Highest Lowest 1 13 67  India 1389.02 49 67 2 19 98  Nepal 1208.42 91 119 3 30 140  Bangladesh 1068.16 100 147 4 32 157  Sri Lanka 955.21 101 157 5 33 158  Pakistan 949.54 106 161 6 35 161  Maldives 938.55 91 162 7 38 173  Bhutan 853.48 113 178 Last updated: 14 June 2024 [16]

Leading women's team:

Individual statistics

Top goalscorer in men's football

As of 10 November 2023

By number of goals (Players with at least 20 goals) # Name Career Goals Caps Avg/Game 1 Sunil Chhetri (list) 2005–2024 94 151 0.62 2 Ali Ashfaq (list) 2003–2023 58 98 0.59 3 Inivalappil Mani Vijayan (list) 1992–2004 29 70 0.41 4 Kasun Jayasuriya (list) 2000–2009 27 55 0.49 Baichung Bhutia (list) 1995–2011 82 0.33 6 Jeje Lalpekhlua (list) 2009–2019 23 54 0.41 Shabbir Ali 1974–1984 66 0.35

By country (only highest goalscorers from each country) # Name Career Goals Caps Avg/Game 1 Sunil Chhetri (list) 2005–2024 94 151 0.62 2 Ali Ashfaq (list) 2003–2023 58 98 0.59 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 13 21 0.63 Hari Khadka (list) 1995–2006 13 39 0.33 Anjan Bista (list) 2014–Present 13 60 0.2 6 Chencho Gyeltshen (list) 2011–present 13 44 0.3 7 Muhammad Essa (list) 2000–2009 11 37 0.3

Players in bold are active international players.

Top goalscorer in women's football

As of 20 June 2024

By number of goals (Players with at least 30 goals) # Name Career Goals Caps Avg/Game 1 Sabitra Bhandari 2014–present 53 46 1.15 2 Bala Devi 2007–2024 49 59 0.81 3 Sasmita Malik 2007–2017 40 38 1.05 4 Sabina Khatun 2009–present 34 53 0.64 5 Yumnam Kamala Devi 2011–2022 33 51 0.65

By country (only highest goalscorers from each country) # Name Career Goals Caps Avg/Game 1 Sabitra Bhandari 2014–present 53 46 1.15 2 Bala Devi 2007–2024 49 59 0.81 3 Sabina Khatun 2009–present 34 53 0.64

Players in bold are active international players.

See also

• FIFA
  • Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
    • ASEAN Football Federation (AFF)
    • East Asian Football Federation (EAFF)
    • Central Asian Football Association (CAFA)
    • West Asian Football Federation (WAFF)

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. "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. "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.
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. "SAFF Ex.Co meeting approves home or away format for SAFF Championship 2025". saffederation.org. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
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. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
16. "The FIFA World Ranking (Women)". FIFA. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.

External links

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