SAFF U-23 Championship

SAFF U-23 Championship

Founded	2026
Region	South Asia (SAFF)
Number of teams	7
Website	saffederation.org
2026 SAFF U-23 Championship

The SAFF U-23 Championship is a biennial football championship for male footballers under the age of 23 and is organized by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The championship will held for the first time in August 2026 in Bangladesh. ^{[1] [2] [3]} The tournaments are held just before AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification matches, keeping in mind about proper preparation for that.

History

On 9 January 2025, the SAFF virtual meeting was held in Dhaka. At that meeting, the SAFF tournament committee decided that, the SAFF Under-23 Championship will be held around May 2026. It is hoped that through this competition, teams from the region will be able to prepare for the Youth Olympics and the Under-23 Asian Cup. ^[4]

Results

Year	Host	Final			Third Place Match
		Champions	Score	Runner-up	Third Place	Score	Fourth Place
2026 Details	Bangladesh	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Participating nations

Legend

• 1st – Champions
• 2nd – Runners-up
• 3rd – Third place
• 4th – Fourth place
• GS – Group stage
• q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
•    — Hosts
•  ×  – Did not enter
•  •  – Did not qualify
•  ×  – Withdrew before qualification
•   — Withdrew after qualification
•   — Disqualified after qualification

Team	2026	Total
Bangladesh	TBD	0
Bhutan	TBD	0
India	TBD	0
Maldives	TBD	0
Nepal	TBD	0
Pakistan	TBD	0
Sri Lanka	TBD	0

Awards

Tournament	Most Valuable Player	Top scorer(s)	Goals	Best Goalkeeper	Fair play award
2026	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Winning coaches

Year	Team	Coach
2026	TBD	TBD

See also

• SAFF Championship
• SAFF U-20 Championship
• SAFF U-17 Championship
• 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.