2026 SAFF U-23 Championship

2026 SAFF U-23 Championship

Tournament details
Host country	Bangladesh
City	Dhaka
Dates	May 2026
Teams	7 (from 1 sub-confederation)
Venue	1
2027 →

The 2026 SAFF U-23 Championship is the inaugural edition of the SAFF U-23 Championship, an international football competition for men's under-23 national teams from South Asia region, organized by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The tournament scheduled to be played in Dhaka, Bangladesh from May 2026. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Host selection

At the SAFF Executive Committee virtual meeting, held on 8 January 2025 in the Dhaka, Bangladesh. The SAFF tournament committee announced the name of Bangladesh host country of the tournament. ^[4]

Participating teams

The following seven teams will participate in the competition.

Team	Appearancesin the SAFF U-23 Championship	Previous best performance
Bangladesh (Host)	Debut
Bhutan	Debut
India	Debut
Maldives	Debut
Nepal	Debut
Pakistan	Debut
Sri Lanka	Debut

Players eligibility

Each team had to register a squad of minimum 16 and maximum 23 players. Players born on or after 1 January 2004 were eligible to compete in the tournament (as per FIFA eligibility rules of underage competitions ^[5] ).

Venue

All matches will held at the National Stadium, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Dhaka	Dhaka
National Stadium
23°43′40.2″N90°24′48.4″E / 23.727833°N 90.413444°E / 23.727833; 90.413444 (Dhaka)
Capacity: 36,000 seats

Draw

The draw ceremony of the tournament yet to be held.

Draw result

Draw Ceremony has not been held yet.

Match officials

Referees

Not yet selected. List Will be selected soon.

Assistant referees

Not yet selected. List Will be selected soon.

Group stage

• All matches were played at Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• Times listed are UTC+06

The groups have not been determined yet. They will be determined soon.

Knockout stage

Not yet determined. Will be determined soon.

Winner

Not yet determined. Will be determined soon.

Awards

Not yet determined. Will be determined soon.

Statistics

Not yet determined. Will be determined soon.

Goalscorers

Not yet determined. Will be determined soon.

Hat-tricks

Not yet determined. Will be determined soon.

Broadcasting rights

Country	Broadcaster	Ref.
India	FanCode	fancode.com

See also

2026 in SAFF

Men's Championships
TBD Under-17	Under-20	Under-23	Senior	Futsal	Club
Women's Championships
TBD Under-17	Under-19	—N/a	Senior	Futsal	TBD Club

• South Asian Games

References

1. "সাফ নিয়ে বিশাল পরিকল্পনা কাজী সালাউদ্দিনের". www.footballbangladesh.com (in Bengali). 16 September 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
2. "SAFF Youth Competition Calendar revised". www.saffederation.org. 24 December 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
3. "SAFF to announced 2024 tournament calendar". South Asian Football Federation. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
4. "ক্লাব টুর্নামেন্ট আয়োজনসহ নতুন উদ্যোগ সাফের". www.dhakapost.com (in Bengali). Retrieved 12 July 2025.
5. "Regulations for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025 (Article 24: Eligibility)" (PDF). The Hub (FIFA). Retrieved 11 May 2025.