South Asian Football Federation Explained

The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) is an association of the football playing nations in South Asia. Incorporated in 1997, it is a regional subsidiary of the Asian Football Confederation. The members of the association are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.^[1]

History

The SAFF was founded in 1997, with Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. In 2000, they expanded to 7 members, adding Bhutan. Afghanistan joined in 2005, but left in 2015, to join then newly formed Central Asian Football Association.^[2]

Presidents

President	Years	Ref.
P. P. Lakshmanan	1997–2001	[3] [4]
	2001–2009	[5]
	2009–2016	[6]
Ranjith Rodrigo (acting)	2016	[7]
	2016–present

Member associations

style=max-width:4em		style=max-width:4em	Association		style=max-width:4em	National team	National league
BAN		1997		(Men, Women)
BHU		2000		(Men, Women)
IND		1997		(Men, Women)
MDV		1997		(Men, Women)
NEP		1997		(Men, Women)
PAK		1997		(Men, Women)
SRI		1997		(Men)

Former member

Competitions

See also: List of association football competitions and FIFA International Match Calendar. The South Asian Football Federation runs several competitions on subcontinental level.

National teams

Men

• SAFF Championship
• SAFF U-23 Championship
• SAFF U-20 Championship
• SAFF U-17 Championship
• SAFF Futsal Championship
• South Asian Games

Women

• SAFF Women's Championship
• SAFF U-20 Women's Championship
• SAFF U-17 Women's Championship
• SAFF Women's Futsal Championship
• South Asian Games

Clubs

Men

• SAFF Club Championship

Women

• SAFF Women's Club Championship

The South Asian Football Federation announced in April 2011 that they had decided to start a new tournament for association football club sides, the SAFF Club Championship, with the inaugural edition to be held in Bangladesh from 1–15 September of the same year.^[8] The competition was postponed and desires to revive the competition were again announced in July 2013 but the competition has still not started with accusations that India, the prime nation in the competition, were not altogether interested in participating.^[9]

Sri Lanka was supposed to host the first edition in August 2014.^[10]

A new possible start was set for December 2016 but later announced that 2017 would see the first edition.^{[11] [12]} This again was changed and announced that 2018 would be the start of the tournament.^[13]

In January 2025, SAFF announced three new competitions: SAFF Club Championship, SAFF Women's Club Championship and the SAFF U-23 Championship.^[14] SAFF struck a deal with marketing partner Sportfive to fund the Men’s, Women’s, Under-23 and Club Championship.^[15]

Current title holders

See also: FIFA International Match Calendar.

Competition		Year	Champions	Details	Runners-up		Next
Men's national teams
Championship		2023		Final			2026
U-23 Championship		—	—	—	—		2026
U-20 Championship		2025		Final			2026
U-17 Championship		2025		Final			2026
Futsal Championship		2026		RR			2027
South Asian Games		2019		Final			2026
Women's national teams
		2024		Final			2026
U-20 Women's Championship		2025		RR			2026
U-17 Women's Championship		2025		RR			2026
Women's Futsal Championship		2026		RR			2027
South Asian Games		2019		Final			2026
Men's club teams
Club Championship		—	—	—	—		2026
Women's club teams
Women's Club Championship		2025		Final	APF		2027

Titles by nation

As of 1 June 2025

Nation	Men's national team					Women's national team					Club	Total
	SAFF	SAG	U18/U19/U20	U15/U16/U17	Fut	SAFF	SAG	U18/U19/U20	U15/U16/U17	Fut	WCC
	9	3	4	6	0	5	3	2	2	0	1	35
	1	2	1	2	0	2	0	4	2	1	0	15
	0	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	8
	0	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	×	3
	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	×	1
	0	0	0	0	0	0	×	0	0	0	0	0
Former member
	1	0	0	0	×	0	×					1
Invited guest
††	×								1	×		1
Kuwait	0	×										0
Lebanon	0	×										0
Total	14	13	6	9	1	7	3	6	7	1	1	68

Note: (†) Member from 2005 till 2015, (††) The Russian Under-17 team was invited to the Under-17 tournament

Medals (1993–2025)

Last Update: 2025 SAFF U-19 Championship

Exclude Football at the South Asian Games and SAFF Club Championship.

• Note: and shared gold in 2024 SAFF U-19 Women's Championship.

SAFF teams at continental and global tournaments

Legend

• – Champion
• – Runner-up
• – Third place
• – Fourth place
• QF – Quarterfinals
• R16 – Round of 16
• GS – Group stage
• 1S – First knockout stage
• — Did not qualify
• — Qualified but withdrew
• — Did not enter / withdrawn / banned / disqualified
  •  — Hosts

For each tournament, the flag of the host country and the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.

Senior

Men's

FIFA World Cup

See main article: National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup.

See also: Asian nations at the FIFA World Cup.

FIFA World Cup record
Team	1930 (13)	1934 (16)	1938 (15)	1950 (13)	1954 (16)	1958 (16)	1962 (16)	1966 (16)	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)	2010 (32)	2014 (32)	2018 (32)	2022 (32)	2026 (48)	2030 (48)	2034 (48)	Total	Attempts
	Did not exist											×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	0	11
	Did not exist																×	×	×	×	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	0	3
				••	‡	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	•	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	0	11
	Did not exist													×	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	0	8
	Did not exist									×	×	×	•	•	×	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	0	9
	Did not exist			×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	0	9
	Did not exist			‡	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	TBD	TBD	0	9
Former member
				Not a SAFF member	•	•	•						0	3

AFC Asian Cup

Team	1956 (4)	1960 (4)	1964 (4)	1968 (5)	1972 (6)	1976 (6)	1980 (10)	1984 (10)	1988 (10)	1992 (8)	1996 (12)	2000 (12)	2004 (16)	2007 (16)	2011 (16)	2015 (16)	2019 (24)	2023 (24)	2027 (24)	Total
					×	×	GS	•	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	1
	×	•	2nd	•	×	×	×	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	GS	•	GS	GS	•	5

AFC Challenge Cup

Teams	2006	2008	2010	2012	2014
	QF	•	GS	•	•	2
	GS	•	•	•	•	1
	QF	1st	GS	GS	•	4
	‡	‡	•	GS	3rd	2
	SF	GS	•	GS	•	3
	GS	•	•	•	•	1
	2nd	GS	GS	•	•	3
Former member
	GS	GS	×	•	4th	3

Asian Games men's football tournament

Football at the Asian Games was a senior tournament until 1998.

Football at the Asian Games has been an under-23 tournament since 2002.

width=200	Team	1951 (6)	1954 (12)	1958 (14)	1962 (8)	1966 (11)	1970 (10)	1974 (15)	1978 (14)	1982 (16)	1986 (18)	1990 (14)	1994 (19)	1998 (23)	2002 (24)	2006 (28)	2010 (24)	2014 (29)	2018 (25)	2022 (23)	2026 (TBA)	Total
	Did not exist							13th	12th	14th	13th		DQ	20th	24th	24th	20th	15th	20th		10
	1st	8th	4th	bgcolor=gold	1st	8th	3rd	13th	8th	6th	16th	DQ	DQ	16th	10th	14th	14th	26th		9th		16
	Did not exist												20th	22nd	20th	17th	21st				5
									16th	18th		18th	17th				29th	22nd			6
		6th	9th				11th			17th	14th			23rd	21st	22nd	24th	17th			10
Former member
	Not a SAFF member			25th				1

Women's

AFC Women's Asian Cup

width=150	Team	1975 (6)	1977 (6)	1980 (6)	1981 (8)	1983 (6)	1986 (7)	1989 (8)	1991 (9)	1993 (8)	1995 (11)	1997 (11)	1999 (15)	2001 (14)	2003 (14)	2006 (9)	2008 (8)	2010 (8)	2014 (8)	2018 (8)	2022 (12)	2026 (12)	2029 (12)	Total
	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	•	×	•	Q	TBD	1
	×	×	2nd	3rd	bgcolor=Silver	2nd	×	×	×	×	GS	GS	GS	GS	GS	•	•	•	•	•	••	Q	TBD	10
	×	×	×	×	×	GS	GS	×	×	×	×	GS	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	•	•	TBD	3

Asian Games Women's football tournament

width=170	Team	1990 (6)	1994 (4)	1998 (8)	2002 (6)	2006 (8)	2010 (7)	2014 (11)	2018 (11)	2022 (16)	2026 (TBA)	Total
									12th		1
			8th				9th		13th		3
					DQ		11th	10th			2
									11th		1

Junior

Men's U-20

AFC U-20 Asian Cup

Team																				1978	1980	1982
	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	GS	×	GS	GS	5th	×
	×	×	×	×	GS	GS	GS	QF	QF	GS	×	×	QF	GS	GS	bgcolor=gold	1st	GS	GS	QF	GS	•	•
	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	GS	GS	×	GS	×	×	×	×	•	•
	×	×	×	GS	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	×	GS	×	×	×	×	×	×	•
	8th	×	GS	×	GS	×	×	GS	QF	×	GS	GS	×	×	×	×	×	GS	×	GS	×	×

Team																				2025	Total
	•	×	•	•	•	×	GS	•	•	GS	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	6
	•	GS	×	GS	GS	×	GS	GS	•	QF	GS	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	22
	×	•	×	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	GS	•	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	•	4
	•	•	•	•	•	×	•	•	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	×	×	×	×	×	3
	×	GS	×	•	×	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	×	•	×	×	•	•	•	•	10

Men's U-17

AFC U-17 Asian Cup

Team																						Total
	×	GS	•	•	GS	•	•	GS	GS	×	GS	GS	DQ	•	•	×	•	•	•	•	•	6
	•	•	•	GS	•	•	GS	•	•	QF	GS	•	GS	•	GS	•	GS	QF	GS	•	Q	10
	•	×	•	•	•	×	×	•	GS	×	•	GS	•	•	•	GS	×	•	•	•	•	3
	×	×	×	×	•	×	×	•	•	GS	×	•	•	•	•	•	×	×	•	×	•	1

Women's U-20

AFC U-20 Women's Asian Cup

Team	2002 (12)	2004 (15)	2006 (8)	2007 (8)	2009 (8)	2011 (6)	2013 (6)	2015 (8)	2017 (8)	2019 (8)	2024 (8)	2026 (12)	Total
	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	Q	1
	GS	QF	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	Q	4
	•	GS	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	1

Women's U-17

AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup

Team	2005 (11)	2007 (6)	2009 (8)	2011 (6)	2013 (12)	2015 (8)	2017 (8)	2019 (8)	2024 (8)	2026 (12)	2027 (12)	2028 (12)	Total
	GS	×	×	×	×	•	GS	GS	•	•	TBD	TBD	3
	GS	×	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	Q	TBD	TBD	2

Rankings

Rankings are calculated by FIFA.

Men's national teams

SAFF	AFC	FIFA	Country	Points		Highest	Lowest
1	27	141		1079.52		94	173
2	33	173		945.02		124	183
3	36	180		911.19		110	197
4	37	182		902.44		124	196
5	41	192		867.86		159	209
6	43	194		857.40		122	207
7	45	199		833.16		141	205

• Last updated: 19 January 2026^[16]

Leading men's team:

ImageSize = width:200 height:700PlotArea = left:40 right:0 bottom:5 top:10DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyyPeriod = from:01/01/1992 till:19/01/2026ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:1992TimeAxis = orientation:vertical format:yyyy

Colors = id:IND value:blue id:MAD value:white id:BHU value:yellow id:NEP value:red id:AFG value:green

PlotData= bar:Leaders width:20 mark:(line,black) align:left fontsize:S from:01/01/1992 till:01/06/2004 shift:(20,-3) text:"India" color:IND from:01/06/2004 till:01/09/2004 shift:(20,-12) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/09/2004 till:01/11/2004 shift:(20,-4) text:"India" color:IND from:01/11/2004 till:01/12/2004 shift:(20,-4) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/12/2004 till:01/07/2006 shift:(20,-4) text:"India" color:IND from:01/07/2006 till:01/10/2006 shift:(20,-11) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/10/2006 till:01/11/2006 shift:(20,-8) text:"India" color:IND from:01/11/2006 till:01/12/2006 shift:(20,-3) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/12/2006 till:01/03/2007 shift:(20,0) text:"India" color:IND from:01/03/2007 till:01/08/2007 shift:(20,-3) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/08/2007 till:01/08/2009 shift:(20,-12) text:"India" color:IND from:01/08/2009 till:01/09/2009 shift:(20,-4) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/09/2009 till:01/09/2010 shift:(20,-4) text:"India" color:IND from:01/09/2010 till:01/10/2010 shift:(20,-11) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/10/2010 till:01/07/2011 shift:(20,-8) text:"India" color:IND from:01/07/2011 till:01/08/2012 shift:(20,-3) text:"Nepal" color:NEP from:01/08/2012 till:01/03/2013 shift:(20,-4) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/03/2013 till:01/02/2014 shift:(20,-11) text:"Afghanistan" color:AFG from:01/02/2014 till:01/06/2014 shift:(20,-8) text:"India" color:IND from:01/06/2014 till:01/06/2015 shift:(20,-4) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:01/06/2015 till:02/07/2015 shift:(20,-4) text:"India" color:IND from:02/07/2015 till:02/06/2016 shift:(20,-4) text:"Maldives" color:MAD from:02/06/2016 till:end shift:(20,-4) text:"India" color:IND

Women's national teams

SAFF	AFC	FIFA	Country	Points		Highest	Lowest
1	12	67		1389.344		49	70
2	16	89		1244.917		87	119
3	21	112		1167.611		100	147
4	31	154		1007.241		106	161
5	36	163		930.198		101	162
6	37	165		920.149		113	178
7	39	167		908.712		91	165

• Last updated: 11 December 2025^[17]

Leading women's team:

ImageSize = width:200 height:400PlotArea = left:40 right:0 bottom:5 top:10DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyyPeriod = from:01/06/2003 till:01/01/2026ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:2004TimeAxis = orientation:vertical format:yyyy

Colors = id:India value:blue

PlotData= bar:Leaders width:20 mark:(line,black) align:left fontsize:S from:01/06/2003 till:end shift:(20,-4) text:"India" color:India

Men's Futsal national teams

SAFF	AFC	FIFA	Country	Points		Highest	Lowest
1	27	109		889.11		106	109
2	28	114		865.96		114	121
3	35	133		763.04		133	135
4	36	138		702.78		138	138
5	37	139		702.41		139	139
NR				0.00		0	0
				0.00		0	0

• Last updated: 12 December 2025^[18]

Women's Futsal national teams

SAFF	AFC	FIFA	Country	Points		Highest	Lowest
1	15	44		920.38		42	44
2	29	87		731.51		79	87
NR				0.00		0	0
				0.00		0	0
				0.00		0	0
				0.00		0	0
				0.00		0	0

• Last updated: 12 December 2025^[19]

Individual statistics

Top goalscorer in men's football

By number of goals

	Name	Career	Goals	Caps	Avg/Game
1		2005–2025	95	157
2		2003–2023	58	98
3		1992–2004	29	70
4		2000–2009	27	55
		1995–2011		82
6		2009–2019	23	54
	Shabbir Ali	1974–1984		66

By country

	Name	Career	Goals	Caps	Avg/Game
1		2005–2025	95	157
2		2003–2023	58	98
3		2000–2009	27	55
4		1975–1985	17	50
5		2002–2010	13	21
		1995–2006	13	39
	Anjan Bista	2014–Present	13	60
6	Chencho Gyeltshen	2011–present	13	44
7		2000–2009	11	37

Players in bold are active international players.

Top goalscorer in women's football

By number of goals

	Name	Career	Goals	Caps	Avg/Game
1	Sabitra Bhandari	2014–present	53	46
2	Bala Devi	2007–2024	48	58
3	Sasmita Malik	2007–2017	36	42
4	Sabina Khatun	2009–present	34	53
5	Yumnam Kamala Devi	2011–2022	36	51

By country

	Name	Career	Goals	Caps	Avg/Game
1	Sabitra Bhandari	2014–present	53	46
2	Bala Devi	2007–2024	48	58
3	Sabina Khatun	2009–present	34	53

Players in bold are active international players.

See also

• FIFA
  • Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
    • ASEAN Football Federation (AFF)
    • East Asian Football Federation (EAFF)
    • Central Asian Football Association (CAFA)
    • West Asian Football Federation (WAFF)

External links

• South Asian Football Federation Cup at RSSSF
• South Asia Football – SAFF website (archived)

Notes and References

1. Web site: About Saff – SAFF . 2025-11-18 . en-US.
2. Web site: Afghanistan to play SAFF Championship for the last time in 2015. 26 February 2014. 10 April 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150509181237/http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/2696/indian-national-team/2015/02/26/9256272/afghanistan-to-play-saff-championship-for-the-last-time-in. 9 May 2015. live.
3. Web site: News for the month of March 1999 . 28 February 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160307150157/http://www.indianfootball.de/news/m199903.html . 7 March 2016 . live .
4. Web site: About US . 2023-09-30 . saffederation.org . 18 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230518192918/https://saffederation.org/about-us . live .
5. Web site: Ganesh Thapa no longer SAFF president . República Sports . Nepal Republic Media . 2009 . 16 January 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100205082427/http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=10404 . 5 February 2010. dead .
6. Web site: Salahuddin new SAFF president | the Daily Star . 3 October 2009 . 28 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222304/http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-108196 . 3 March 2016 . live .
7. Web site: Rodrigo Replaces Salahuddin as Acting President of SAFF - Daily Sports . January 8, 2016 . 3 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160306090454/http://dailysports.lk/rodrigo-replaces-salahuddin-as-acting-president-of-saff/ . 6 March 2016 . live .
8. Web site: Bangladesh to host inaugural SAFF club championship . Zeenews.india.com . 18 April 2011 . 4 August 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120927062036/http://zeenews.india.com/news/sports/bangladesh-to-host-inaugural-saff-club-championship_700817.html . 27 September 2012 . live .
9. Web site: Salauddin laments India's lack of initiative towards SAFF Club Championship . Goal India . 30 July 2013 . 14 November 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180527203057/http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/136/india/2013/07/30/4152626/salauddin-laments-indias-lack-of-initiative-towards-saff?ICID=OP . 27 May 2018 . live .
10. Web site: First ever South Asian Club Championship to be played in Sri Lanka . SouthAsiaFootball.com . 13 March 2014 . 13 March 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140313212702/http://southasiafootball.com/first-ever-south-asian-club-championship-to-be-played-in-sri-lanka/ . 13 March 2014 . dead .
11. Web site: Ranjith Rodrigo appointed acting President of SAFF. dailynews.lk. 4 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170818090316/http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=2016%2F01%2F06%2Fsports%2Franjith-rodrigo-appointed-acting-president-saff. 18 August 2017. live.
12. News: Bangladesh to host SAFF Suzuki Cup. 25 August 2016. maldivessoccer.com. 25 August 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160826040428/http://www.maldivesoccer.com/s/Bangladesh-to-host-SAFF-Suzuki-Cup-6221. 26 August 2016.
13. News: SAFF to hold biennial club tournament from 2018. 9 October 2016. Dawn. 6 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161008150212/http://www.dawn.com/news/1288438. 8 October 2016. live.
14. Web site: SAFF Ex. Co meeting approves home or away format for SAFF Championship 2025 . 2025-01-08 . saffederation.org.
15. Web site: প্রতিবেদক . জ্যেষ্ঠ . 2025-01-08 . ক্লাব টুর্নামেন্ট আয়োজনসহ নতুন উদ্যোগ সাফের . 2025-09-17 . dhakapost.com . bn.
16. Web site: The FIFA World Ranking (Men). FIFA. 19 January 2026. 19 January 2026.
17. Web site: The FIFA World Ranking (Women). FIFA. 11 December 2025. 11 December 2025.
18. Web site: The FIFA World Ranking (Men). FIFA. 12 December 2025. 12 December 2025.
19. Web site: The FIFA World Ranking (Women). FIFA. 12 December 2025. 12 December 2025.