SAFF Championship 2021: Participating teams, fixtures, tables, top scorers, squads, stadium and all you need to know

The 2021 SAFF Championship will be the 13th edition of the competition since its inception in 1993. It is a biennial international men’s football championship and this time, it will be hosted in Male, Maldives. 

India are the most successful nation in the SAFF Championship as they have won the competition a record seven times. However, in the last edition Maldives won the title after defeating India 2-1 in the final. 

Which nations are participating in the SAFF Championship 2021? 

1. India

2. Nepal

3. Sri Lanka

4. Bangladesh

5. Maldives

Two other member nations in Pakistan and Bhutan have refrained from competing in the tournament. 

The Bureau of the FIFA Council suspended the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) on April 7 2021 due to third-party interference. It was deemed as a serious violation of the FIFA statutes. The PFF headquarters in Lahore was taken over by a group of protestors and thereby dislodged the FIFA-appointed normalisation committee of the PFF led by Haroon Malik. The reins of administration were taken over by Syed Ashfaq Hussain Shah. FIFA warned PFF of consequences if the status quo was not restored. However, the situation remained unchanged which forced the FIFA Council to suspend Pakistan FA. Hence, no footballing activity can be undertaken by the national team. 

Whereas, Bhutan decided to refrain from participating in the tournament after the Bhutanese government did not grant necessary permission to send the national team abroad due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In which stadium will the SAFF Championship be played?

All the matches of the SAFF Championship will be played at the National Football Stadium in Male, Maldives. 

SAFF Championship 2021 Fixtures & Results

Date	Fixture	Time	Score	Stadium
October 1	Nepal vs Maldives	16:30		National Football Stadium, Male
October 1	Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh	21:30		National Football Stadium, Male
October 4	Bangladesh vs India	16:30		National Football Stadium, Male
October 4	Sri Lanka vs Nepal	21:30		National Football Stadium, Male
October 7	India vs Sri Lanka	16:30		National Football Stadium, Male
October 7	Maldives vs Bangladesh	21:30		National Football Stadium, Male
October 10	Maldives vs Sri Lanka	16:30		National Football Stadium, Male
October 10	Nepal vs India	21:30		National Football Stadium, Male
October 13	Bangladesh vs Nepal	16:30		National Football Stadium, Male
October 13	India vs Maldives	21:30		National Football Stadium, Male

When is the SAFF Championship 2021 final?

The final will be played on October 16 between the top two teams after the round-robin stage. 

2021 SAFF CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE

Position	Team	Played	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Qualification
1	Bangladesh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	India	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Maldives (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Nepal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Sri Lanka	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Further Reading