2025 SAFF Championship

2025 SAFF Championship

Tournament details
Host country	Sri Lanka
Dates	22 June – 5 July [1]
Teams	7 (from 1 sub-confederation)
Venue(s)	2 (in 1 host city)
← 2023 2027 →

The 2025 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). The event will be held in Sri Lanka, from 22 June to 5 July, 2025. ^{[2] [3]}

India, the defending champions, won their record-extending ninth championship by defeating Kuwait in the final in the previous edition. ^[4]

Host selection

This edition was expected to be held on a home-and-away format. ^[5] However, it stayed centralized and Sri Lanka were given the hosting rights. ^{[6] [7]}

Participating nations

All the seven SAFF members will compete.

Country	Appearance	Previous best performance	FIFA ranking (3 April 2025)
Bangladesh	13th	Champions (2003)	183
Bhutan	9th	Semi-finals (2008)	182
India	14th	Champions (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021, 2023 )	127
Maldives	12th	Champions (2008, 2018)	164
Nepal	14th	Runners-up (2021)	175
Pakistan	12th	Third-place (1997)	198
Sri Lanka	14th	Champions (1995)	200

Squads

Main article: 2025 SAFF Championship squads

Each team had to register a squad with a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 23 players, at least three of whom must be goalkeepers.

Venue

Colombo
Colombo Racecourse	Sugathadasa Stadium
Capacity: 10,000	Capacity: 25,000
Colombo

Draw

The draw ceremony will take place on 25 April 2025 in Colombo. ^[8]

Group stage

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	TBD1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	TBD2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	TBD3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	TBD4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: Pakistan

Bangladesh bhutan

Nepal

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	TBD1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	TBD2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	TBD3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	TBD4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Marketing

The marketing rights for the tournament have been awarded to Sportfive until 2029, with the championship occurring biennially. ^{[2] [9]}

Sponsorship

Title Partner	Presenting Partners	Official Sponsors	Official Performance Partner	Commercial partner
				Sportfive

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster	Reference
Bangladesh
Bhutan
India
Maldives
Nepal
Pakistan
Sri Lanka

See also

• Sri Lanka portal
• Association football portal

• 2024 SAFF Women's Championship
• 2027 AFC Asian Cup
• 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
• 2025 WAFF Championship
• 2024 ASEAN Championship

References

1. "তাহলে কি একক ভেন্যুতেই হচ্ছে সাফ চ্যাম্পিয়নশিপ". prothomalo (in Bengali). Retrieved 11 March 2025.
2. khelnow
3. "Format of SAFF Championship likely to change". unb.com.bd. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
4. "Gurpreet Singh Sandhu the penalty hero again as India beat Kuwait to become SAFF champions". ESPN.com. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
5. "SAFF Ex.Co meeting approves home or away format for SAFF Championship 2025". saffederation.org. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
6. "Sri Lanka to host the SAFF Championship 2025 after 17 years . FFSL President Jaswar Umar currently in Nepal confirmed the hosting".
7. "No home-and-away model for the SAFF Championship 2025; the tournament stays centralized".
8. "Sri Lanka to host SAFF Championship". Dailymirror. 13 March 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
9. Wijewickrama, Navod (8 January 2025). "Ex.Co approves home or away format for SAFF Championship". ThePapare. Retrieved 9 January 2025.