2026 SAFF Championship

2026 SAFF Championship
Tournament details
Host countryBangladesh
Dates5 – 17 November
Teams6 (from 1 sub-confederation)
Venue1 (in 1 host city)
Tournament statistics
Matches played2
Goals scored6 (3 per match)
Attendance15,083 (7,542 per match)
Top scorerSuhail Bhat (2 goals)
← 2023
2028 →
All statistics correct as of 5 November 2026.

The 2026 SAFF Championship (also known as the Tecno SAFF Championship 2026 due to sponsorship reasons with Tecno Mobile) 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).

India are the defending champions, defeated guest team Kuwait in the final of previous edition.

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. 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 2026 FIFA World Cup.

However, Sri Lanka subsequently withdrew as host due to logistical 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 an initial schedule set from 21 September to 6 October 2026.

The tournament was later postponed after India accepted an invitation to compete in the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup, which overlapped with the original dates. India which was already drawn to be part of Group A withdrew due to commitments to play a friendly match with Brazil at Kolkata, and was then replaced by Bangladesh.

Participating nations

Altogether six SAFF members have confirmed their participation. Nepal will not be able to participate in this tournament because the suspension imposed by FIFA had not been lifted by the slated deadline of September 30, 2026.

Country Appearance Previous best performance FIFA ranking
(July 2026)
 Bangladesh (H) 14th Champions (2003) 182
 Bhutan 10th Semi-finals (2008) 192
 India 15th Champions (Nine times) 138
 Maldives 13th Champions (2008, 2018) 172
 Pakistan 13th Third-place (1997) 198
 Sri Lanka 15th Champions (1995) 183

Squads

Each team was required to registered a squad with a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 23 players, at least three of whom had to be goalkeepers. The All India Football Federation announced a second-string squad, allowing the first-choice team to fulfil its commitments to play two friendly matches against New Zealand. In November 2026, the maximum squad was increased to 28 players.

Venues

The National Stadium in Dhaka will host all the matches of this edition.

Dhaka
Location of venue in Bangladesh
National Stadium
23°44′7.8″N 90°24′40.7″E / 23.735500°N 90.411306°E / 23.735500; 90.411306 (National Stadium)
Capacity: 22,400
National Stadium

Draw

The official logo unveiling ceremony took place in Dhaka on July 25, 2026, while the official draw ceremony concluded in Thimphu, Bhutan, on August 1, 2026.

Draw pot

This draw was conducted based on the latest FIFA Men's World Ranking published on 20 July 2026.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3
 Bangladesh (H) (181)
 India (138)		  Maldives (173)
 Sri Lanka (187)		  Bhutan (192)
 Pakistan (198)

Draw result

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

Match officials

Referees
Assistant referees
Fourth Official

Group stage

Group A

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Bangladesh (H) 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3 Advance to the Knockout stage
2  Sri Lanka 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Bhutan 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
First match(es) will be played: 5 November 2026. Source: SAFF
(H) Hosts
Bhutan 0–1 Bangladesh
SAFF
FIFA
Attendance: 12,783
Sri Lanka v Bhutan
SAFF
FIFA
Bangladesh v Sri Lanka
SAFF
FIFA

Group B

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  India 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1 3 Advance to the Knockout stage
2  Maldives 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Pakistan 1 0 0 1 2 3 −1 0
Updated to match(es) played on 5 November 2026. Source: SAFF
Pakistan 2–3 India
 SAFF
FIFA
Attendance: 2,300
Referee: Ngô Duy Lân (Vietnam)
Pakistan v Maldives
SAFF
FIFA
Referee: Ahmad A'Qashah (Singapore)
India v Maldives
SAFF
FIFA

Knockout stage

 
Semi-finalsThe Final
 
      
 
14 November – Dhaka
 
 
 Group B winner
 
17 November – Dhaka
 
 Group A runner-up
 
 SF1 winner
 
14 November – Dhaka
 
 SF2 winner
 
 Group A winner
 
 
 Group B runner-up
 

Semi-finals

Group B winnervGroup A runner-up
[ SAFF]
[ FIFA]
Group A winnervGroup B runner-up
[ SAFF]
[ FIFA]

Final

SF1 winnervSF2 winner
[ SAFF]
[ FIFA]

Champion

 SAFF Championship 2026 

To be determined

Prize money

Prize money amounts will be announced in 2026.

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

Statistics

Goalscorers

There were 6 goals scored in 2 matches, for an average of 3 goals per match.

2 goals

1 goal

Awards

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

Broadcasting

Country Broadcaster Ref.
 Bangladesh T Sports, Bongo BD
 India Veto
 Pakistan Myco, Tamasha
 Maldives Bongo BD
 Sri Lanka
 Bhutan

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ India has won in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021 and 2023.
  2. ↑ The first choice Indian national team was sent to participate in FIFA international friendly matchess.

References

  1. 1 2 "TECNO & SAFF Officially Launch the TECNO SAFF Championship Bangladesh 2026". South Asian Football Federation. 25 July 2026. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Anish Anand (4 July 2023). "Gurpreet Singh Sandhu the penalty hero again as India beat Kuwait to become SAFF champions". ESPN. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  4. ↑ Triyasha Chatterjee (23 April 2025). "SAFF Championship postponed to 2026; Sri Lanka to host invitational tournament instead". Khel Now. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
  5. ↑ "සාෆ් පාපන්දු තරගාවලිය සැප්තැම්බර් 21 වැනිදා සිට". Kelimandala (in Sinhala). 26 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  6. ↑ "India withdraw from FIFA ASEAN Cup, leaving S'pore and two other teams in Premier Div Group A". The Straits Times. 13 August 2026. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  7. ↑ "India out of FIFA ASEAN Cup, plan two more big friendlies". The Times of India. 13 August 2026. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "India out, Bangladesh in for FIFA ASEAN Cup". Daily Star. 14 August 2026. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  9. ↑ {{cite news |title= A New Stage, A New Chapter. Bangladesh is ready to take on the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026. SAFF President Kazi Salahuddin subsequently confirmed that the competition was rescheduled. While Bangladesh had been chosen as the host nation, SAFF General Secretary Purushottam Kattel stated that the official announcement was deferred pending corporate sponsorships. On 21 July 2026, Bangladesh was officially confirmed as the host country, with the tournament scheduled to take place in Dhaka from 4 to 17 November 2026.<ref name="Saff">"Bangladesh to host 2026 SAFF Championship from November 4–17". South Asian Football Federation. 21 July 2026. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "Bangladesh confirmed as host of 2026 SAFF Championship". bdnews24.com. 21 July 2026. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  11. ↑ Arooj Fatima (21 July 2026). "Bangladesh Set to Host SAFF Championship 2026". Pro Sports. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  12. ↑ Paudel, Nayak (1 August 2026). "Nepal's SAFF Championship hopes hinge on FIFA lifting ANFA suspension". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 1 August 2026.
  13. 1 2 "The FIFA World Ranking (Men)". FIFA. 20 July 2026. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  14. ↑ "India withdraw from FIFA ASEAN Cup, leaving S'pore and two other teams in Premier Div Group A". The Straits Times. 13 August 2026. Retrieved 2 October 2026.
  15. ↑ "India out of FIFA ASEAN Cup, plan two more big friendlies". The Times of India. 13 August 2026. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  16. ↑ "Dhaka to host SAFF Championship from Nov 4–17". The Daily Star. 21 July 2026. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
  17. ↑ Ahmed, Kamran (25 July 2026). "TECNO Becomes Title Sponsor as SAFF Championship Bangladesh 2026 Officially Launches". Dazzling Dawn. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  18. ↑ "SAFF Championship draw today: What you need to know". The Daily Star. 1 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "SAFF Championship draw set | Nepal's fate hangs in balance". Daily Sun. 1 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026. [dead link]
  20. ↑ "Bangladesh drawn with Sri Lanka, Bhutan in SAFF Championship". Dhaka Tribune. 1 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "SAFF Championship: Defending champions India grouped with Pakistan, Maldives". India Today. 1 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  22. 1 2 3 "SAFF Championship 2026 – Full schedule, teams, venue, kick-off timing, live streaming info". The Hindu. 5 November 2026. Retrieved 5 November 2026.
  23. ↑ "SAFF Championship 2026: India vs Pakistan in opener - full schedule, where to watch live". Olympics. 4 November 2026. Retrieved 5 November 2026.
  24. ↑ "SAFF Championship 2026: Schedule, History & Teams". 16 October 2026.