South Asian 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.
Emblem of the SAFF | |
Location of members in Asia | |
| Abbreviation | SAFF |
|---|---|
| Formation | 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 |
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 | 2016* |
| Kazi Salahuddin | 2016–present[5][3] |
- *Due to health issues in 2016, Ranjith Rodrigo replaced Salahuddin as acting president for two months.[6]
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 | |
| 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 |
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
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
| 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 | ||
Titles by nation
| 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 |
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.
- 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
|
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- 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.
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) |
Years | Attempts |
| Bangladesh | Did not exist | Not a FIFA member | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | 0 | 11 | |||||||||
| Bhutan | Did not exist | Not a FIFA member | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | TBD | 0 | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| India | Not a FIFA member | •• | ‡ | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | 0 | 11 | ||
| Maldives | Did not exist | Not a FIFA member | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | 0 | 8 | |||||||||||
| Nepal | Did not exist | Not a FIFA member | × | × | × | • | • | × | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | 0 | 9 | |||||||
| Pakistan | Did not exist | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | 0 | 9 | ||
| Sri Lanka | Did not exist | ‡ | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 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
|
AFC Solidarity Cup
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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) | 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 | |||||||||||||||||
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 | • | • | • | • | • | ••[lower-alpha 1] | TBD | TBD | 9 |
| Nepal | × | × | × | × | × | GS | GS | × | × | × | × | GS | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | TBD | TBD | 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.[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) | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 12th | 1 | |||||||||
| India | 8th | 9th | 13th | 3 | |||||||
| Maldives | DQ | 11th | 10th | 2 | |||||||
| Nepal | 11th | 1 |
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 | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | 6 |
| India | • | GS | × | GS | GS | × | GS | GS | • | QF | GS | GS | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | 22 |
| Nepal | × | • | × | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | GS | • | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | TBD | 4 |
| Pakistan | • | • | • | • | • | × | • | • | GS | • | • | • | • | • | • | × | × | × | × | TBD | 3 |
| Sri Lanka | × | GS | × | • | × | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | × | • | × | × | • | • | • | TBD | 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) |
2025 (48) |
2026 (48) |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | R1 | • | • | TBD | 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 | • | • | × | • | • | • | TBD | 6 |
| India | • | • | • | GS | • | • | GS | • | • | QF | GS | • | GS | • | GS | • | GS | QF | GS | TBD | 9 |
| Nepal | • | × | • | • | • | × | × | • | GS | × | • | GS | • | • | • | GS | × | • | • | TBD | 3 |
| Pakistan | × | × | × | × | • | × | × | • | • | GS | × | • | • | • | • | • | × | × | • | TBD | 1 |
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 |
Rankings
Rankings are calculated by FIFA.
Men's national teams
|
Leading men's team: |
Women's national teams
|
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)
|
By country(only highest goalscorers from each country)
|
- 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)
|
By country(only highest goalscorers from each country)
|
- 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)
- Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
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.
- "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. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
- "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)
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