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The 2026 SAFF Championship will be the 15th edition of the SAFF Championship, the biennial international men’s football championship of South Asia organized by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF).[1][2]

India, the defending champions, won their record-extending ninth championship by defeating Kuwait in the final in the previous edition.[3] SAFF General Secretary Purushottam Kattel has said that VAR technology may be included in this 2026 Edition.[4][5]

Host selection

This edition was originally expected to be held in a home-and-away format before organizers opted for a centralized tournament in Sri Lanka.[6] In April 2025, the competition was postponed to 2026 due to venue-related logistical issues, the need for adequate preparation periods for the competing nations, and a desire to align the tournament with the global excitement surrounding the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[7]

However, Sri Lanka subsequently withdrew as hosts due to logistics and various limitations. During the SAFF Executive Committee meeting held in Bangkok, Thailand on 26 January 2026, it was decided that the 2026 SAFF Championship would be hosted in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with the initial schedule set from 21 September to 6 October 2026.[8][9]

The tournament was later postponed after India accepted an invitation to compete in the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup, which overlapped with the original dates. Consequently, SAFF President Kazi Salahuddin confirmed that the competition is tentatively rescheduled to take place from 4 to 17 November 2026. While Bangladesh has been selected as the host country, SAFF General Secretary Purushottam Kattel previously noted that the official announcement remained pending due to the finalization of corporate sponsorships. A definitive decision regarding the host nation’s official confirmation and the complete match schedule is expected to be released via an official press statement after 12 June 2026.[10][11]

Participating nations

All seven SAFF members are expected to compete.

Country Appearance Previous best performance FIFA ranking
(April 2026)
 Bangladesh (H) 14th Champions (2003) 181 Steady (11 June 2026)[12]
 Bhutan 10th Semi-finals (2008) 192 Decrease 6 (11 June 2026)[12]
 India 15th Champions (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021, 2023) 138 Decrease 2 (11 June 2026)[12]
 Maldives 13th Champions (2008, 2018) 173 Decrease 1 (11 June 2026)[12]
   Nepal 15th Runners-up (2021) 177 Decrease 1 (11 June 2026)[12]
 Pakistan 13th Third-place (1997) 198 Increase 4 (11 June 2026)[12]
 Sri Lanka 15th Champions (1995) 187 Increase 4 (11 June 2026)[12]

Squads

Main article: 2026 SAFF Championship squads

Venues

All matches are expected to be hosted across two venues, which will be selected from a shortlist of three potential locations. The National Stadium in Dhaka and the Bashundhara Kings Arena are currently the primary candidates. Additionally, the Sylhet District Stadium has been included as a potential alternative venue. The SAFF will finalize any two of these three venues for this edition of the championship.[13][14]

Dhaka Sylhet
Location of venues in Bangladesh
National Stadium Bashundhara Kings Arena Sylhet District Stadium
23°44′7.8″N 90°24′40.7″E / 23.735500°N 90.411306°E / 23.735500; 90.411306 (National Stadium) 23°49′20″N 90°29′06″E / 23.82222°N 90.48500°E / 23.82222; 90.48500 (Kings Arena) 24°53′41.28″N 91°51′37.44″E / 24.8948000°N 91.8604000°E / 24.8948000; 91.8604000 (Sylhet Stadium)
Capacity: 22,400 Capacity: 6,000 Capacity: 15,000
National Stadium Kings Arena Sylhet Stadium

Draw

The official schedule and the draw ceremony for the tournament are currently pending announcement and will be disclosed in due course.[15]

Draw Pot

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
 Bangladesh (hosts)
 India 		 Maldives
   Nepal 		 Bhutan
 Pakistan 		 Sri Lanka

Draw Result

Group A
Pos Team
A1  India
A2    Nepal
A3  Pakistan
A4  Sri Lanka
Group B
Pos Team
B1  Bangladesh
B2  Maldives
B3  Bhutan

Match officials

Referees

Not yet selected. List Will be selected soon.

Assistant referees

Not yet selected. List Will be selected soon.

Group stage

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  TBA (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2  TBA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  TBA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4  TBA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: unknown. Source: [citation needed]
(H) Hosts
TBA v TBA
TBA v TBA
TBA v TBA
TBA v TBA
TBA v TBA
TBA v TBA

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  TBA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2  TBA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  TBA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: unknown. Source: [citation needed]
TBA v TBA
TBA v TBA
TBA v TBA

Knockout stage

Bracket

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
 To be determined
 
 
  TBA
 
 To be determined
 
  TBA
 
  TBA
 
 To be determined
 
  TBA
 
  TBA
 
 
  TBA
 

Semi-finals

TBA v TBA
TBA v TBA

Final

Main article: 2026 SAFF Championship final
TBA v TBA

Champion

 SAFF Championship 2026 

India
10th title

Prize money

Prize money amounts were announced in 2026.

Position Amount (USD)
Champions TBD
Runner-up TBD
Total TBD

Statistics

Goalscorers

TBD

Awards

Most Valuable Player Top Scorer Goalkeeper Fair Play
TBD TBD TBD TBD

Marketing

The marketing rights for the tournament have been awarded to Sportfive until 2029.[1]

Broadcasting

Country Broadcaster Ref.
 Bangladesh TBD
 India TBD
 Maldives TBD
   Nepal TBD
 Pakistan TBD
 Sri Lanka TBD
 Bhutan TBD

See also

References

  1. ^ a b khelnow
  2. ^ “Format of SAFF Championship likely to change”. unb.com.bd. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  3. ^ “Gurpreet Singh Sandhu the penalty hero again as India beat Kuwait to become SAFF champions”. ESPN.com. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  4. ^ “বাংলাদেশে সাফ চ্যাম্পিয়নশিপ, থাকতে পারে ভিএআর”. Channel 24 (in Bengali). 8 April 2026. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  5. ^ “বাংলাদেশে বসছে সাফ চ্যাম্পিয়নশিপ, সেপ্টেম্বরেই সম্ভাব্য আয়োজন”. Independent tv (in Bengali). 9 April 2026. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  6. ^ “Sri Lanka to host the SAFF Championship 2025 after 17 years”.
  7. ^ “SAFF Championship postponed to 2026; Sri Lanka to host invitational tournament instead”. Khel Now. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  8. ^ “বাংলাদেশে বসছে সাফ চ্যাম্পিয়নশিপ, সেপ্টেম্বরেই সম্ভাব্য আয়োজন”. Independent tv (in Bengali). 9 April 2026. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  9. ^ “සාෆ් පාපන්දු තරගාවලිය සැප්තැම්බර් 21 වැනිදා සිට”. Kelimandala (in Sinhala). 26 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  10. ^ “বাংলাদেশেই বসছে সাফ চ্যাম্পিয়নশিপের ১৫তম আসর, মিলেছে ৭ দেশের সম্মতি” (in Bengali). Jamuna Sports. 2 June 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  11. ^ “Sports 7 days ago Bangladesh to host men’s SAFF Championship in November”. The Financial Express. 3 June 2026. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g “The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking”. 11 June 2026. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  13. ^ “বাংলাদেশে সাফ চ্যাম্পিয়নশিপ, থাকতে পারে ভিএআর”. Channel 24 (in Bengali). 8 April 2026. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  14. ^ “বাংলাদেশে বসছে সাফ চ্যাম্পিয়নশিপ, সেপ্টেম্বরেই সম্ভাব্য আয়োজন”. Independent TV (in Bengali). 9 April 2026. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  15. ^ “জল্পনা শেষ, নভেম্বরেই বাংলাদেশে হবে সাফ চ্যাম্পিয়নশিপ”. Desh TV Sports (in Bengali). 2 June 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.