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South Asian Football Federation

Football association

Football association

FieldValue
nameSAFF
full_nameSouth Asian Football Federation
logoLogo of South Asian Football Federation from 18 November, 2025.png
logo_size250px
mapSAFF-Nationen.PNG
abbreviationSAFF
formation
typeFootball organization
headquartersDhaka, Bangladesh
region_servedSouth Asia
membership7 member associations
leader_titlePresident
leader_nameKazi Salahuddin
leader_title2Vice President
leader_name2Sundar Narshing Joshi
leader_title3General Secretary
leader_name3Purushottam Kattel
languageEnglish
parent_organizationAFC
website

The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) is an association of the football playing nations in South Asia. Incorporated in 1997, it is a regional subsidiary of the Asian Football Confederation. 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.

Presidents

PresidentYearsRef.
IND P. P. Lakshmanan1997–2001
NEP Ganesh Thapa2001–2009
BAN Kazi Salahuddin2009–2016url=http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-108196title=Salahuddin new SAFF president | the Daily Stardate=3 October 2009access-date=28 February 2016archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222304/http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-108196archive-date=3 March 2016url-status=live }}
SRI Ranjith Rodrigo (acting)2016
BAN Kazi Salahuddin2016–present

Member associations

CodeAssociationNational teamNational league
BAN1997
BHU2000
IND1997
MDV1997
NEP1997
PAK1997
SRI1997

Former member

AssociationYearNote
2005–2015Joined CAFA in 2015.

Competitions

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
  • SAFF Futsal Championship
  • South Asian Games

;Women

  • SAFF Women's Championship
  • SAFF U-20 Women's Championship
  • SAFF U-17 Women's Championship
  • SAFF Women's Futsal 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. 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.

Sri Lanka was supposed to host the first edition in August 2014.

A new possible start was set for December 2016 but later announced that 2017 would see the first edition. This again was changed and announced that 2018 would be the start of the tournament.

In January 2025, SAFF announced three new competitions: SAFF Club Championship, SAFF Women's Club Championship and the SAFF U-23 Championship. SAFF struck a deal with marketing partner Sportfive to fund the Men’s, Women’s, Under-23 and Club Championship.

Current title holders

CompetitionYearChampionsDetailsRunners-upNextMen's national teamsWomen's national teamsMen's club teamsWomen's club teams
Championship2023Final2026
U-23 Championship————2026
U-20 Championship2025Final2026
U-17 Championship2025Final2026
Futsal Championship2026RR2027
South Asian Games2019Final2026
2024Final2026
U-20 Women's Championship2025RR2026
U-17 Women's Championship2025RR2026
Women's Futsal Championship2026RR2027
South Asian Games2019Final2026
Club Championship————2026
Women's Club Championship2025FinalNEP APF2027

Titles by nation

As of 1 June 2025

NationMen's national teamWomen's national teamClubTotalSAFFSAGU18/U19/U20U15/U16/U17FutSAFFSAGU18/U19/U20U15/U16/U17FutWCCIND35BAN15NEP8PAK5MDV3SRI1BHU0Former member1Invited guestRUS††1Kuwait Kuwait0Lebanon Lebanon0Total141369173671168
93460532201
12120204210
04200000200
04010000000
2000100000×
1000000000×
000000×0000
1000×0×
×1×
0×
0×

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

Medals (1993–2025)

Last Update: 2025 SAFF U-19 Championship

Exclude Football at the South Asian Games and SAFF Club Championship.

SAFF teams at continental and global tournaments

;Legend

  • **** – Champion
  • **** – Runner-up
  • **** – Third place
  • **** – 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
  • — 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

FIFA World Cup recordTeam1930
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)2030
Morocco
Portugal
Spain
Argentina
Paraguay
Uruguay
(48)2034
Saudi Arabia
(48)TotalAttemptsFormer member
Did not existNot a FIFA memberו••••••••••TBDTBD011
Did not existNot a FIFA member×××ו••TBDTBD03
Not a FIFA member••‡××××××וו••••••••TBDTBD011
Did not existNot a FIFA member×ו•••••••TBDTBD08
Did not existNot a FIFA member××ו•×••×•••••TBDTBD09
Did not exist××××××××××ו••••••••TBDTBD09
Did not exist‡×××××××××ו••••••••TBDTBD09
Not a FIFA memberNot a SAFF member•••Not a SAFF member03
AFC Asian Cup
TeamBritish 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)UAE
1996
(12)Lebanon
2000
(12)China
2004
(16)Indonesia
Malaysia
Thailand
Vietnam
2007
(16)Qatar
2011
(16)Australia
2015
(16)UAE
2019
(24)Qatar
2023
(24)Saudi Arabia
2027
(24)Total15
Part of ××GS•••×••••••••
ו2nd•×××GS••••••GS•GSGS•
AFC Challenge Cup
TeamsBangladesh
2006
(16)India
2008
(8)Sri Lanka
2010
(8)Nepal
2012
(8)Maldives
2014
(8)Total2142313Former member3
QF•GS••
GS••••
QF1stGSGS•
‡‡•GS3rd
SFGS•GS•
GS••••
2ndGSGS••
GSGSו4th
AFC Solidarity Cup
TeamsMalaysia
2016
(7)Total00101
×
‡
1st
×
GS
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.

TeamIND
1951
(6)PHI
1954
(12)JPN
1958
(14)Indonesia
1962
(8)THA
1966
(11)THA
1970
(10)IRI
1974
(15)THA
1978
(14)IND
1982
(16)KOR
1986
(18)CHN
1990
(14)JPN
1994
(19)THA
1998
(23)KOR
2002
(24)QAT
2006
(28)CHN
2010
(24)KOR
2014
(29)Indonesia
2018
(25)CHN
2022
(23)JPN
2026
(TBA)TotalFormer member
Did not exist13th12th14th13thDQ20th24th24th20th15th20th10
1st8th4th1st8th3rd13th8th6th16thDQDQ16th10th14th14th26th9th16
Did not exist20th22nd20th17th21st5
16th18th18th17th29th22nd6
6th9th11th17th14th23rd21st22nd24th17th10
Not a SAFF member25thNot a SAFF member1

Women's

AFC Women's Asian Cup
TeamHKG
1975
(6)Republic of China
1977
(6)IND
1980
(6)HKG
1981
(8)THA
1983
(6)HKG
1986
(7)HKG
1989
(8)JPN
1991
(9)MAS
1993
(8)MAS
1995
(11)CHN
1997
(11)PHI
1999
(15)TPE
2001
(14)THA
2003
(14)AUS
2006
(9)VIE
2008
(8)CHN
2010
(8)VIE
2014
(8)JOR
2018
(8)IND
2022
(12)AUS
2026
(12)UZB
2029
(12)Total
××××××××××××××××ווQTBD1
××2nd3rd2nd××××GSGSGSGSGS•••••••QTBD10
×××××GSGS××××GS××××××ו•TBD3
Asian Games Women's football tournament
TeamCHN
1990
(6)JPN
1994
(4)THA
1998
(8)KOR
2002
(6)QAT
2006
(8)CHN
2010
(7)KOR
2014
(11)Indonesia
2018
(11)CHN
2022
(16)JPN
2026
(TBA)Total
12th1
8th9th13th3
DQ11th10th2
11th1

Junior

Men's U-20

AFC U-20 Asian Cup
TeamMalaya
1959Malaya
1960THA
1961THA
1962Malaya
1963VSO
1964JPN
1965PHI
1966THA
1967KOR
1968THA
1969PHI
1970JPN
1971THA
1972IRN
1973THA
1974KUW
1975THA
1976IRN
1977BAN
1978THA
1980THA
1982
××××××××××××××××GS×GSGS5th×
××××GSGSGSQFQFGS××QFGSGS1stGSGSQFGS••
××××××××××××GSGS×GS×××ו•
×××GS××××××××××GS×××××ו
8th×GS×GS××GSQF×GSGS×××××GS×GS××
TeamUAE
1985KSA
1986QAT
1988IDN
1990UAE
1992IDN
1994KOR
1996THA
1998IRN
2000QAT
2002MAS
2004IND
2006KSA
2008CHN
2010UAE
2012Myanmar
2014BHR
2016IDN
2018UZB
2023CHN
2025Total
•×•••×GS••GS••×•••••••6
•GS×GSGS×GSGS•QFGSGS••••••••22
וו•×••••GS•••×•••••4
•••••×••GS••••••×××××3
×GSוו•×••••×•×ו•••10

Men's U-17

FIFA U-17 World Cup
Team1985
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)2025
Qatar
(48)2026
Qatar
(48)Total
••••••••••••••••R1•••TBD1
AFC U-17 Asian Cup
TeamQAT
1985QAT
1986THA
1988UAE
1990KSA
1992QAT
1994THA
1996QAT
1998VIE
2000UAE
2002JPN
2004SIN
2006UZB
2008UZB
2010IRN
2012THA
2014IND
2016MAS
2018THA
2023KSA
2025KSA
2026Total
×GS••GS••GSGS×GSGSDQ••×•••••6
•••GS••GS••QFGS•GS•GS•GSQFGS•Q10
•×•••×וGSוGS•••GSו•••3
×××ו×ו•GSו••••×וו1

Women's U-20

AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup
Team2002
IND
(12)2004
CHN
(15)2006
MAS
(8)2007
CHN
(8)2009
CHN
(8)2011
VIE
(6)2013
CHN
(6)2015
CHN
(8)2017
CHN
(8)2019
THA
(8)2024
UZB
(8)2026
THA
(12)Total
•••••••••••Q1
GSQFGS••••••••Q4
•GS••••••••••1

Women's U-17

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
TeamNZL
2008
(16)TRI
2010
(16)AZE
2012
(16)CRC
2014
(16)JOR
2016
(16)URU
2018
(16)IND
2022
(16)DOM
2024
(16)MAR
2025
(24)MAR
2026
(24)Total
••••••GS••TBD1
AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup
Team2005
KOR
(11)2007
MAS
(6)2009
THA
(8)2011
CHN
(6)2013
CHN
(12)2015
CHN
(8)2017
THA
(8)2019
THA
(8)2024
IDN
(8)2026
CHN
(12)2027
CHN
(12)2028
CHN
(12)Total
GS×××וGSGS••TBDTBD3
GSו••••••QTBDTBD2

Rankings

Rankings are calculated by FIFA.

Men's national teams

SAFFAFCFIFACountryPointsHighestLowest
1271411079.5294
233173945.02124
336180911.19110
437182902.44124
541192867.86159
643194857.40122
745199833.16141
  • Last updated: 19 January 2026

Leading men's team:

ImageSize = width:200 height:700 PlotArea = left:40 right:0 bottom:5 top:10 DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1992 till:19/01/2026 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1992 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical format:yyyy

Colors = id:IND value:blue id:MAD value:white id:BHU value:yellow id:NEP value:red id:AFG value:green

PlotData= bar:Leaders width:20 mark:(line,black) align:left fontsize:S from:01/01/1992 till:01/06/2004 shift:(20,-3) text:"India" color:IND from:01/06/2004 till:01/09/2004 shift:(20,-12) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/09/2004 till:01/11/2004 shift:(20,-4) text:"India" color:IND from:01/11/2004 till:01/12/2004 shift:(20,-4) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/12/2004 till:01/07/2006 shift:(20,-4) text:"India" color:IND from:01/07/2006 till:01/10/2006 shift:(20,-11) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/10/2006 till:01/11/2006 shift:(20,-8) text:"India" color:IND from:01/11/2006 till:01/12/2006 shift:(20,-3) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/12/2006 till:01/03/2007 shift:(20,0) text:"India" color:IND from:01/03/2007 till:01/08/2007 shift:(20,-3) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/08/2007 till:01/08/2009 shift:(20,-12) text:"India" color:IND from:01/08/2009 till:01/09/2009 shift:(20,-4) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/09/2009 till:01/09/2010 shift:(20,-4) text:"India" color:IND from:01/09/2010 till:01/10/2010 shift:(20,-11) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/10/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift:(20,-8) text:"India" color:IND from:01/07/2011 till:01/08/2012 shift:(20,-3) text:"Nepal" color:NEP from:01/08/2012 till:01/03/2013 shift:(20,-4) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/03/2013 till:01/02/2014 shift:(20,-11) text:"Afghanistan" color:AFG from:01/02/2014 till:01/06/2014 shift:(20,-8) text:"India" color:IND from:01/06/2014 till:01/06/2015 shift:(20,-4) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/06/2015 till:02/07/2015 shift:(20,-4) text:"India" color:IND from:02/07/2015 till:02/06/2016 shift:(20,-4) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:02/06/2016 till:end shift:(20,-4) text:"India" color:IND

Women's national teams

SAFFAFCFIFACountryPointsHighestLowest
112671389.34449
216891244.91787
3211121167.611100
4311541007.241106
536163930.198101
637165920.149113
739167908.71291
  • Last updated: 11 December 2025

Leading women's team:

ImageSize = width:200 height:400 PlotArea = left:40 right:0 bottom:5 top:10 DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/06/2003 till:01/01/2026 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:2004 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical format:yyyy

Colors = id:India value:blue

PlotData= bar:Leaders width:20 mark:(line,black) align:left fontsize:S from:01/06/2003 till:end shift:(20,-4) text:"India" color:India

Men's Futsal national teams

SAFFAFCFIFACountryPointsHighestLowest
127109889.11106
228114865.96114
335133763.04133
436138702.78138
537139702.41139
NR0.0000
0.0000
  • Last updated: 12 December 2025

Women's Futsal national teams

SAFFAFCFIFACountryPointsHighestLowest
11544920.3842
22987731.5179
NR0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
  • Last updated: 12 December 2025

Individual statistics

Top goalscorer in men's football

By number of goals

(Players with at least 20 goals)

#NameCareerGoalsCapsAvg/Game
1Sunil Chhetri (list)2005–202595157
2Ali Ashfaq (list)2003–20235898
3Inivalappil Mani Vijayan (list)1992–20042970
4Kasun Jayasuriya (list)2000–20092755
Baichung Bhutia (list)1995–201182
6Jeje Lalpekhlua (list)2009–20192354
Shabbir Ali1974–198466

By country

(only highest goalscorers from each country)

#NameCareerGoalsCapsAvg/Game
1Sunil Chhetri (list)2005–202595157
2Ali Ashfaq (list)2003–20235898
3Kasun Jayasuriya (list)2000–20092755
4Ashraf Uddin Ahmed Chunnu (list)1975–19851750
5Nirajan Rayamajhi (list)2002–20101321
Hari Khadka (list)1995–20061339
Anjan Bista (list)2014–Present1360
6Chencho Gyeltshen (list)2011–present1344
7Muhammad Essa (list)2000–20091137

: Players in bold are active international players.

Top goalscorer in women's football

By number of goals

(Players with at least 30 goals)

#NameCareerGoalsCapsAvg/Game
1Sabitra Bhandari2014–present5346
2Bala Devi2007–20244858
3Sasmita Malik2007–20173642
4Sabina Khatun2009–present3453
5Yumnam Kamala Devi2011–20223651

By country

(only highest goalscorers from each country)

#NameCareerGoalsCapsAvg/Game
1Sabitra Bhandari2014–present5346
2Bala Devi2007–20244858
3Sabina Khatun2009–present3453

: Players in bold are active international players.

References

References

  1. "About Saff – SAFF".
  2. (26 February 2014). "Afghanistan to play SAFF Championship for the last time in 2015".
  3. "News for the month of March 1999".
  4. "About US".
  5. (2009). "Ganesh Thapa no longer SAFF president". Nepal Republic Media.
  6. (3 October 2009). "Salahuddin new SAFF president | the Daily Star".
  7. (January 8, 2016). "Rodrigo Replaces Salahuddin as Acting President of SAFF - Daily Sports".
  8. (18 April 2011). "Bangladesh to host inaugural SAFF club championship". Zeenews.india.com.
  9. (30 July 2013). "Salauddin laments India's lack of initiative towards SAFF Club Championship". Goal India.
  10. (13 March 2014). "First ever South Asian Club Championship to be played in Sri Lanka". SouthAsiaFootball.com.
  11. "Ranjith Rodrigo appointed acting President of SAFF". dailynews.lk.
  12. (25 August 2016). "Bangladesh to host SAFF Suzuki Cup". maldivessoccer.com.
  13. (6 October 2016). "SAFF to hold biennial club tournament from 2018". Dawn.
  14. "SAFF Ex. Co meeting approves home or away format for SAFF Championship 2025".
  15. প্রতিবেদক, জ্যেষ্ঠ. (2025-01-08). "ক্লাব টুর্নামেন্ট আয়োজনসহ নতুন উদ্যোগ সাফের".
  16. (23 January 2022). "Latest update on the AFC Women's Asian Cup India 2022". Asian Football Confederation.
  17. (19 January 2026). "The FIFA World Ranking (Men)". [[FIFA]].
  18. (11 December 2025). "The FIFA World Ranking (Women)". [[FIFA]].
  19. (12 December 2025). "The FIFA World Ranking (Men)". [[FIFA]].
  20. (12 December 2025). "The FIFA World Ranking (Women)". [[FIFA]].
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