2026 SAFF Championship

2026 SAFF Championship

Tournament details
Host country	Bangladesh
Dates	5 – 17 November
Teams	6 (from 1 sub-confederation)
Venue	1 (in 1 host city)
← 2023 2028 →

The 2026 SAFF Championship (also known as the Tecno SAFF Championship 2026 due to sponsorship reasons with Tecno Mobile) ^[1] 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). ^[2]

India, the defending champions, won their record-extending ninth championship by defeating non-SAFF team Kuwait in the final in the previous edition. ^[3]

SAFF General Secretary Purushottam Kattel has said that VAR technology may be included in this 2026 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. ^[4] 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. ^[5]

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. ^[6]

The tournament was later postponed after India accepted an invitation to compete in the 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup, which overlapped with the original dates. 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. ^{[2] [7] [8]}

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. ^[9]

Country	Appearance	Previous best performance	FIFA ranking (July 2026) [10]
Bangladesh (H)	14th	Champions (2003)	182
Bhutan	10th	Semi-finals (2008)	192
India	15th	Champions (Nine times) [note 1]	138
Maldives	13th	Champions (2008, 2018)	172
Pakistan	13th	Third-place (1997)	198
Sri Lanka	15th	Champions (1995)	183

Squads

Main article: 2026 SAFF Championship squads

Venues

The National Stadium in Dhaka will host all the matches of this edition. ^{[11] [12]}

Dhaka	National Stadium Location of venue in Bangladesh
National Stadium
23°44′7.8″N90°24′40.7″E / 23.735500°N 90.411306°E / 23.735500; 90.411306 (National Stadium)
Capacity: 22,400

Draw

The official logo unveiling ceremony took place in Dhaka on July 25, 2026, ^{[1] [13]} while the official draw ceremony concluded in Thimphu, Bhutan, on August 1, 2026. ^{[14] [15]}

Draw pot

This draw was conducted based on the latest FIFA Men's World Ranking published on 20 July 2026. ^[10]

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

Draw result

Group A [16] Pos Team A1   Bangladesh A2   Sri Lanka A3   Bhutan

Group B [17] Pos Team B1   India B2   Maldives B3   Pakistan

Match officials

Referees

TBD

Assistant referees

TBD

Group stage

• All matches will take place in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• All times are listed in Bangladesh Standard Time (UTC+06:00).

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Bangladesh (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to the Knockout stage
2	Bhutan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Sri Lanka	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 5 November 2026. Source: SAFF
(H) Hosts

5 November 2026 (2026-11-05)

20:00

Bhutan	v	Bangladesh

National Stadium , Dhaka

---

8 November 2026 (2026-11-08)

20:00

Sri Lanka	v	Bhutan

National Stadium , Dhaka

---

11 November 2026 (2026-11-11)

20:00

Bangladesh	v	Sri Lanka

National Stadium , Dhaka

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	India	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to the Knockout stage
2	Maldives	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Pakistan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 5 November 2026. Source: SAFF

5 November 2026 (2026-11-05)

15:30

Pakistan	v	India

National Stadium , Dhaka

---

8 November 2026 (2026-11-08)

15:30

Maldives	v	Pakistan

National Stadium , Dhaka

---

11 November 2026 (2026-11-11)

15:30

India	v	Maldives

National Stadium , Dhaka

Knockout stage

	Semi-finals				The Final
	14 November – Dhaka
	Group B Champion
					17 November – Dhaka
	Group A Runner-up
					Winner Of SF1
	14 November – Dhaka
					Winner Of SF2
	Group A Champion
	Group B Runner-up

Semi-finals

14 November 2026 (2026-11-14)

15:00

Group B Champion	v	Group A Runner-up

National Stadium , Dhaka

14 November 2026 (2026-11-14)

20:30

Group A Champion	v	Group B Runner-up

National Stadium , Dhaka

Final

Main article: 2026 SAFF Championship final

17 November 2026 (2026-11-17)

20:00

Winner Of SF1	v	Winner Of SF2

National Stadium , Dhaka

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

TBD

Awards

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

Official Partners

Role / Function	Partner	Ref.
Overall Event Operations	TSA Sports and Entertainment	[18]
Host Broadcaster	T Sports	[19]
Ticketing Partner	Tickify	[20]
Kit Supplier (Match officials)	Hunkar	[21]
Hospitality Partner	IHG Hotels & Resorts	[22]
Football Partner	Vector X	[23]
Payment Partner	Upay	[24]
Online Streaming Partner	Toffee	[25]
Beverage Partner	Mojo	[26]

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster	Ref.
Bangladesh	T Sports	[19]
India	Unite8 Sports
Maldives	TBD
Nepal	TBD
Pakistan	Myco	[27]
Sri Lanka	TBD
Bhutan	TBD

See also

• Bangladesh portal
• Association football portal

• 2026 SAFF Women's Championship
• 2026 SAFF Club Championship
• 2026 FIFA ASEAN Cup
• 2026 FIFA World Cup

Notes

1. India has won in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021 and 2023.

References

1. "TECNO & SAFF Officially Launch the TECNO SAFF Championship Bangladesh 2026". South Asian Football Federation . 25 July 2026. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
2. "Bangladesh to host 2026 SAFF Championship from November 4–17". South Asian Football Federation . 21 July 2026. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
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. "Sri Lanka to host the SAFF Championship 2025 after 17 years". Football Federation of Sri Lanka . 11 March 2025. Retrieved 21 July 2026– via Instagram.
5. Triyasha Chatterjee (23 April 2025). "SAFF Championship postponed to 2026; Sri Lanka to host invitational tournament instead". Khel Now. Retrieved 25 April 2025.
6. "සාෆ් පාපන්දු තරගාවලිය සැප්තැම්බර් 21 වැනිදා සිට". Kelimandala (in Sinhala). 26 January 2026. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
7. "Bangladesh confirmed as host of 2026 SAFF Championship". bdnews24.com . 21 July 2026. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
8. Arooj Fatima (21 July 2026). "Bangladesh Set to Host SAFF Championship 2026". Pro Sports. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
9. Paudel, Nayak (1 August 2026). "Nepal's SAFF Championship hopes hinge on FIFA lifting ANFA suspension". The Kathmandu Post . Retrieved 1 August 2026.
10. "The FIFA World Ranking (Men)". FIFA. 20 July 2026. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
11. "Dhaka to host SAFF Championship from Nov 4–17". The Daily Star . 21 July 2026. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
12. "ন্যাশনাল স্টেডিয়ামেই হচ্ছে সাফ, বাংলাদেশের ফুটবল ফ্যানদের দক্ষিণ এশিয়ায় সবার ওপরে রাখলেন কাটেল" [SAFF is being held at the National Stadium, Kattel put Bangladesh football fans above everyone else in South Asia]. T Sports (in Bengali). 25 July 2026. Retrieved 25 July 2026– via Facebook.
13. Ahmed, Kamran (25 July 2026). "TECNO Becomes Title Sponsor as SAFF Championship Bangladesh 2026 Officially Launches". Dazzling Dawn. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
14. "SAFF Championship draw today: What you need to know". The Daily Star . 1 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
15. "SAFF Championship draw set | Nepal's fate hangs in balance". Daily Sun . 1 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.^{[ dead link ]}
16. "Bangladesh drawn with Sri Lanka, Bhutan in SAFF Championship". Dhaka Tribune . 1 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
17. "SAFF Championship: Defending champions India grouped with Pakistan, Maldives". India Today . 1 August 2026. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
18. "SAFF Awards Exclusive Rights for SAFF Championship 2026 to TSA Sports and Entertainment". South Asian Football Federation . 15 September 2026. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
19. "Every match. Every moment. Closer to you. Welcoming T-Sports as the Official Host Broadcast Partner of Tecno Saff Championship 2026". Techno - SAFF Championship 2026 . 1 October 2026. Retrieved 9 October 2026– via Facebook.
20. "We're excited to welcome Tickify as the Official Ticketing Partner of Tecno SAFF Championship 2026. Your ticket to the action starts here!". Techno - SAFF Championship 2026 . 3 October 2026. Retrieved 11 October 2026– via Facebook.
21. "We're proud to welcome Hunkar as the Match Officials Kit Partner of Tecno SAFF Championship 2026. Together, gearing up for the game!". Techno - SAFF Championship 2026 . 1 October 2026. Retrieved 8 October 2026– via Facebook.
22. "We're proud to welcome IHG Hotels & Resorts as the Official Hospitality Partner of Tecno SAFF Championship 2026. Together, making the championship experience even better". Techno - SAFF Championship 2026 . 3 October 2026. Retrieved 11 October 2026– via Facebook.
23. "Delighted to join forces with Vector X as our Official Football Partner for the Tecno SAFF Championship 2026. The stage is set and the official match ball is about to be revealed. Don't miss it!". Techno - SAFF Championship 2026 . 7 October 2026. Retrieved 14 October 2026– via Facebook.
24. "Welcoming Upay as the Official Payment Partner of the TECNO SAFF Championship 2026". Techno - SAFF Championship 2026 . 16 October 2026. Retrieved 16 October 2026– via Facebook.
25. "Welcoming Toffee as the Official Online Streaming Partner of the TECNO SAFF Championship 2026". Techno - SAFF Championship 2026 . 13 October 2026. Retrieved 16 October 2026– via Facebook.
26. "Welcoming Mojo as the Official Beverage Partner of the TECNO SAFF Championship 2026". Techno - SAFF Championship 2026 . 19 October 2026. Retrieved 20 October 2026– via Facebook.
27. "We're proud to welcome Myco as the Official OTT & Broadcast Partner for Pakistan of Tecno SAFF Championship 2026. Together, bringing every match closer to fans across Pakistan". Techno - SAFF Championship 2026 . 3 October 2026. Retrieved 11 October 2026– via Facebook.