South Asian Football Federation
AbbreviationSAFF
Formation1997 (1997)
TypeSports organization
HeadquartersBanani, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Region served
South Asia
Membership
7 member associations
Official language
English
Bangladesh Kazi Salahuddin
Bangladesh Anwarul Haq Helal
Parent organization
AFC
Websitesaffederation.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. In 2005, Afghanistan joined too, but later, left in 2015, to join then newly formed Central Asian Football Association.[1]

Presidents

President Years
India P. P. Lakshmanan1997–2001[2][3]
Nepal Ganesh Thapa2001–2009[4][3]
Bangladesh Kazi Salahuddin2009–2016[5][3]
Sri Lanka Ranjith Rodrigo* 2016–2016
Bangladesh Kazi Salahuddin 2016–present[5][3]
*Due to health issues in 2016, Sri Lanka 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 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

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, are not altogether interested in participating.[8]

Sri Lanka was supposed to host 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 Latest Edition Champions Title Runners-up Next edition
National teams
SAFF Championship 2023  India 9th  Kuwait TBD
South Asian Games 2019    Nepal 4th  Bhutan 2024
U-18/U-19/U-20 Championship 2022  India 3rd  Pakistan TBD
U-15/U-16/U-17 Championship 2023  India 5th  Bangladesh TBD
Women's national teams
SAFF Women's Championship 2022  Bangladesh 1st  Nepal TBD
South Asian Games 2019  India 3rd  Nepal 2024
U-18/U-19/U-20 Women's Championship 2023  Bangladesh 3rd    Nepal TBD
U-15/U-17 Women's Championship 2023  Russia 1st  Bangladesh TBD
Club teams
SAFF Club Championship 2024 TBD 1st TBD TBD

Titles by nation

Nation National team (men's) National team (women's) Club (men's) Total
SAFF SAG U18/U19/U20 U15/U16/U17 SAFF SAG U18/U19/U20 U15/U16/U17 SCC
 India 93355312 0 31
 Bangladesh 12021021 0 9
   Nepal 04200002 0 8
 Pakistan 04010000 0 5
 Maldives 20000000 0 2
 Sri Lanka 10000000 0 1
 Bhutan 00000000 0 0
Former member
 Afghanistan 10000000 0 1
Invited guest
 Russia†† 00000001 0 1
Kuwait Kuwait 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lebanon Lebanon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 14 13 5 8 6 3 3 6 0 58

Note: (†) Member from 2005 till 2015 , (††) The Russian Under-17 team was invited to the Under-17 tournament

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
Uruguay
(13)
1934
Kingdom of Italy
(16)
1938
French Third Republic
(15)
1950
Fourth Brazilian Republic
(13)
1954
Switzerland
(16)
1958
Sweden
(16)
1962
Chile
(16)
1966
England
(16)
1970
Mexico
(16)
1974
West Germany
(16)
1978
Argentina
(16)
1982
Spain
(24)
1986
Mexico
(24)
1990
Italy
(24)
1994
United States
(24)
1998
France
(32)
2002
Japan
South Korea
(32)
2006
Germany
(32)
2010
South Africa
(32)
2014
Brazil
(32)
2018
Russia
(32)
2022
Qatar
(32)
2026
Canada
Mexico
United States
(48)
Years Attempts
 Bangladesh did not exist × × × TBD 0 10
 Bhutan × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × × 0 3
 India did not exist •• × × × × × × × × TBD 0 10
 Maldives did not exist × × × × × × × × 0 8
   Nepal × × × × × × × × × × × × × × TBD 0 8
 Pakistan did not exist × × × × × × × × × × × TBD 0 8
 Sri Lanka did not exist × × × × × × × × × × 0 9
Former member
 Afghanistan Not member of FIFA Not a SAFF member Not a SAFF member 0 3
AFC Asian Cup
Team British Hong Kong
1956
(4)
South Korea
1960
(4)
Israel
1964
(4)
Iran
1968
(5)
Thailand
1972
(6)
Iran
1976
(6)
Kuwait
1980
(10)
Singapore
1984
(10)
Qatar
1988
(10)
Japan
1992
(8)
United Arab Emirates
1996
(12)
Lebanon
2000
(12)
China
2004
(16)
Indonesia
Malaysia
Thailand
Vietnam
2007
(16)
Qatar
2011
(16)
Australia
2015
(16)
United Arab Emirates
2019
(24)
Qatar
2023
(24)
Saudi Arabia
2027
(24)
Total
 Bangladesh Part of  Pakistan××GS×TBD 1
 India ×2nd×××GSGSGSQTBD 5

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 India
1951
(6)
Philippines
1954
(12)
Japan
1958
(14)
Indonesia
1962
(8)
Thailand
1966
(11)
Thailand
1970
(10)
Iran
1974
(15)
Thailand
1978
(14)
India
1982
(16)
South Korea
1986
(18)
China
1990
(14)
Japan
1994
(19)
Thailand
1998
(23)
South Korea
2002
(24)
Qatar
2006
(28)
China
2010
(24)
South Korea
2014
(29)
Indonesia
2018
(25)
China
2022
(23)
Years
 Bangladesh did not exist13th12th14th13thDQ20th24th24th20th15th20th10
 India 1st8th4th1st8th3rd13th8th6th16thDQDQ16th10th14th14th26th9th16
 Maldives did not exist20th22nd20th17th21st5
   Nepal 16th18th18th17th29th22nd6
 Pakistan 6th9th11th17th14th23rd21st22nd24th17th10
Former member
 Afghanistan Not a SAFF member25thNot a SAFF member1

Women's

AFC Women's Asian Cup
Team Hong Kong
1975
(6)
Taiwan
1977
(6)
India
1980
(6)
Hong Kong
1981
(8)
Thailand
1983
(6)
Hong Kong
1986
(7)
Hong Kong
1989
(8)
Japan
1991
(9)
Malaysia
1993
(8)
Malaysia
1995
(11)
China
1997
(11)
Philippines
1999
(15)
Chinese Taipei
2001
(14)
Thailand
2003
(14)
Australia
2006
(9)
Vietnam
2008
(8)
China
2010
(8)
Vietnam
2014
(8)
Jordan
2018
(8)
India
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.[14]

Asian Games Women's football tournament

Nation China
1990
(6)
Japan
1994
(4)
Thailand
1998
(8)
South Korea
2002
(6)
Qatar
2006
(8)
China
2010
(7)
South Korea
2014
(11)
Indonesia
2018
(11)
China
2022
(16)
Years
 Bangladesh 12th1
 India 8th9th13th3
 Maldives DQ11th10th2
 Nepal 11th1

Junior

Men's U-20

AFC U-20 Asian Cup
Nation Federation of Malaya
1959
Federation of Malaya
1960
Thailand
1961
Thailand
1962
Federation of Malaya
1963
South Vietnam
1964
Japan
1965
Philippines
1966
Thailand
1967
South Korea
1968
Thailand
1969
Philippines
1970
Japan
1971
Thailand
1972
Iran
1973
Thailand
1974
Kuwait
1975
Thailand
1976
Iran
1977
Bangladesh
1978
Thailand
1980
Thailand
1982
 Bangladesh ××××××××××××××××GS×GSGS 5th ×
 India ××××GSGSGSQFQFGS××QFGSGS1stGSGSQFGS
   Nepal ××××××××××××GSGS×GS××××
 Pakistan ×××GS××××××××××GS××××× ×
 Sri Lanka 8th×GS×GS××GSQF×GSGS×××××GS×GS × ×
NationUnited Arab Emirates
1985
Saudi Arabia
1986
Qatar
1988
Indonesia
1990
United Arab Emirates
1992
Indonesia
1994
South Korea
1996
Thailand
1998
Iran
2000
Qatar
2002
Malaysia
2004
India
2006
Saudi Arabia
2008
China
2010
United Arab Emirates
2012
Myanmar
2014
Bahrain
2016
Indonesia
2018

2023
Total
 Bangladesh××GSGS× 6
 IndiaGS×GSGS×GSGSQFGSGS 22
   Nepal×××GS× 4
 Pakistan×GS××× ×3
 Sri Lanka×GS×××××× 10

Men's U-17

FIFA U-17 World Cup
Team 1985
China
(16)
1987
Canada
(16)
1989
Scotland
(16)
1991
Italy
(16)
1993
Japan
(16)
1995
Ecuador
(16)
1997
Egypt
(16)
1999
New Zealand
(16)
2001
Trinidad and Tobago
(16)
2003
Finland
(16)
2005
Peru
(16)
2007
South Korea
(24)
2009
Nigeria
(24)
2011
Mexico
(24)
2013
United Arab Emirates
(24)
2015
Chile
(24)
2017
India
(24)
2019
Brazil
(24)
2023
Indonesia
(24)
Total
 India R11
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 ×GSGSGSGS×GSGSDQ×6
 India GSGSQFGSGSGSGSQFGS9
   Nepal ×××GS×GSGS×3
 Pakistan ××××××GS×××1

Women's U-20

AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup
Team 2002
India
(12)
2004
China
(15)
2006
Malaysia
(8)
2007
China
(8)
2009
China
(8)
2011
Vietnam
(6)
2013
China
(6)
2015
China
(8)
2017
China
(8)
2019
Thailand
(8)
2024
Uzbekistan
(8)
Total
 India GSQFGS3
   Nepal GS1

Women's U-17

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
Team New Zealand
2008
(16)
Trinidad and Tobago
2010
(16)
Azerbaijan
2012
(16)
Costa Rica
2014
(16)
Jordan
2016
(16)
Uruguay
2018
(16)
India
2022
(16)
Dominican Republic
2024
(16)
Total
 India GS1
AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup
Team 2005
South Korea
(11)
2007
Malaysia
(6)
2009
Thailand
(8)
2011
China
(6)
2013
China
(12)
2015
China
(8)
2017
Thailand
(8)
2019
Thailand
(8)
2024
Indonesia
(8)
Total
 Bangladesh GS××××GSGS3
 India GS×1

Rankings

Rankings are calculated by FIFA.

Individual statistics

Top goalscorer in men's football

As of 10 November 2023
Players in bold are active international players.

Top goalscorer in women's football

As of 20 August 2022
Players in bold are active international players.

See also

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. 1 2 3 4 "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. 1 2 "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.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  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. 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.
  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. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  16. "The FIFA World Ranking (Women)". FIFA. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
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