The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAARC comprises 3% of the world's area, 21% of the world's population and 4.21% of the global economy, as of 2019.
The Afghanistan national football team is the national football team of Afghanistan and is controlled by the Afghanistan Football Federation. Founded in 1922, they played their first international game against Iran in Kabul, 1941. Afghanistan then joined FIFA in 1948 and the AFC in 1954, as one of the founding members. They play their home games at the Ghazi National Olympic Stadium in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. In 2013, Afghanistan won the 2013 SAFF Championship and earned the "FIFA Fair Play Award".
The Bangladesh national football team is the national recognised football team of Bangladesh and is controlled by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation, and became a member of FIFA in 1974. Even though the Bangladesh Football Federation was first founded in 1972. Bangladesh was elected as a member of the AFC Executive Committee in 1982–1986 and 1998–2002. The current Executive Committee was elected democratically, under an AFC approved constitution and direct supervision of FIFA & AFC, in April 2008.
The Maldives national football team represents the Maldives in international football and is controlled by the Football Association of Maldives. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The Pakistan national football team represents Pakistan association football in FIFA-authorised events and is controlled by the Pakistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Pakistan. Pakistan became a member of FIFA in 1948 joining the Asian Football Confederation and its national team debuted in 1950.
The South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) is an agreement reached on January 6, 2004, at the 12th SAARC summit in Islamabad, Pakistan. It created a free-trade area of 1.6 billion people in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to reduce customs duties of all traded goods to zero by the year 2016. The SAFTA agreement came into force on January 1, 2006, and is operational following the ratification of the agreement by the eight governments. SAFTA required the developing countries in South Asia to bring their duties down to 20 percent in the first phase of the two-year period ending in 2007. In the final five-year phase ending in 2012, the 20 percent duty was reduced to zero in a series of annual cuts. The least developed countries in South Asia had an additional three years to reduce tariffs to zero. India and Pakistan ratified the treaty in 2009, whereas Afghanistan as the 8th member state of the SAARC ratified the SAFTA protocol on 4 May 2011.
The ACC Twenty20 Cup was a 20-over cricket tournament organised by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC). The tournament did not include the ACC members who were full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) during the years in which it was held, instead featuring the best associate and affiliate members. Matches at the tournament were not accorded official Twenty20 or Twenty20 International status.
South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), founded in 1997, is an association of the football playing nations in South Asia and is part of the larger Asian Football Confederation. The current members are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The Pakistan national baseball team is the national team representing Pakistan in international baseball tournaments and competitions. They are ranked as the top and one of the most successful baseball teams in South Asia, winning the first SAARC Baseball Championship 8-2 against Sri Lanka in 2011. The team is currently ranked #27 in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.
The South Asian Football Federation Championship, commonly known as SAFF Championship, is the main international association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). All seven teams are eligible to compete in tournament.
The 1993 South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation Gold Cup was the 1st South Asian Football Federation Cup, held in Lahore, Pakistan between 16 July 1993 and 23 July 1993. The countries that competed in this tournament were India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Additionally, a Pakistan Junior team participated under the name of Pakistan White. However, their matches were not part of the tournament. This tournament was played as a league where the team which gets the highest points wins the competition. India won the tournament and became the first ever South Asian Football Champions.
The 2010 South Asian Games, officially the XI South Asian Games, was a major multi-sport event that took place from 29 January to 8 February 2010 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This was the third time that the Bangladeshi capital hosted the South Asian Games, thus becoming the first city to hold the games three times.
This is a list of all the recorded matches played by the Bhutan national football team, which represents Bhutan in international men's football. Bhutan play their home games at the national stadium, Changlimithang. It is one of the younger national teams in the world having played its first match in 1982.
The Bhutan women's national football team represents Bhutan in international women's football. The team is controlled by the governing body for football in Bhutan, the Bhutan Football Federation, which is currently a member of the Asian Football Federation and the regional body the South Asian Football Federation. Bhutan play their home games at the national stadium, Changlimithang. It is one of the younger national teams in the world having played its first match in 2010. Bhutan took part in the 2014 SAFF Women's Championship in Islamabad, Pakistan at the end of 2014, losing all three games, including a 4–1 loss to host Pakistan in which Tshering Yangdon scored just the second official goal in the team's history.
Secretary-General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, is head of a SAARC Secretariat, which is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal. SAARC is an economic and geopolitical union between the eight South Asian member nations, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Secretary-General is appointed for a three-year term by election by a council of Ministers from member states. Secretary-General is assisted by eight deputies, one from each nation, who also reside in Kathmandu. SAARC Secretariat was established in Kathmandu on 16 January 1987 by Bangladeshi diplomat Abul Ahsan, who was its first Secretary-General, and was inaugurated by King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal. Since its creation, its member nations have contributed to a total of fourteenth General Secretaries. Sri Lanka's diplomat Esala Weerakoon is the current Secretary-General, having assumed charge on 1 March 2020.
The South Asia Satellite, formerly known as SAARC Satellite, is a geostationary communications and meteorology satellite operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region. The satellite was launched on 5 May 2017. During the 18th SAARC summit held in Nepal in 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi mooted the idea of a satellite serving the needs of SAARC member nations as a part of his neighbourhood first policy. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka are the users of the multi-dimensional facilities provided by the satellite.
Cricket was included for the first time at the 2010 South Asian Games, hosted by Dhaka, Bangladesh. A men's 20-over tournament was played from 31 January to 7 February 2010.
The Bhutan national under-23 football team represents Bhutan in men's international under-23 football. The team is controlled by the governing body for football in Bhutan, the Bhutan Football Federation, which is currently a member of the Asian Football Federation and the regional body the South Asian Football Federation. Bhutan have never attempted to qualify for the Olympic Games and their competitive matches have been restricted solely to the South Asian Games, where they made their debut in 2004.
Countries and territories in South Asia have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first South Asian country to report a confirmed case was Nepal, which documented its first case on 23 January 2020, in a man who had returned from Wuhan on 9 January. As of 2 July, at least one case of COVID-19 has been reported in every country in South Asia. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Maldives have implemented lockdowns, Sri Lanka has responded with quarantine curfews while India and Nepal have declared a country-wide lockdown. Countries have also instituted various levels of restrictions on international travel, some countries have completely sealed off their land borders and grounded most international flights.
Pakistan 
