2023 SAFF Championship
Fourteenth edition of the SAFF Championship
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The 2023 SAFF Championship (known as the 2023 Bangabandhu SAFF Championship for sponsorship reasons)[1] was the 14th edition of the SAFF Championship, the biennial international men's football championship of South Asia organised by South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The event was held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore, India from 21 June to 4 July 2023.
| |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | India |
| Dates | 21 June – 4 July |
| Teams | 8 (from 2 sub-confederations) |
| Venue | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  India (9th title) |
| Runners-up |  Kuwait |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Goals scored | 38 (2.53 per match) |
| Attendance | 93,993 (6,266 per match) |
| Top scorer | Sunil Chhetri (5 goals) |
| Best player | Sunil Chhetri |
| Best goalkeeper |  Anisur Rahman Zico |
| Fair play award |  Nepal |
← 2021 2026 → | |
India, the defending champions, won their record-extending ninth championship by defeating Kuwait in the final.[2][3]
Host selection
At the SAFF Executive Committee meeting, held on 17 October 2021 in the Maldives, Football Sri Lanka expressed their interest to bid for hosting the tournament.[4] However, FIFA suspended Sri Lanka on 21 January 2023, which ceased them from hosting and participation in any football tournament.[5]
Later on 30 January 2023, SAFF unofficially announced that only Nepal had applied for hosting rights till the deadline which is 29 January 2023.[6] The host was supposed to be announced following the SAFF members' meeting during 33rd AFC Congress in Manama, Bahrain on 1 February 2023. On 14 February 2023, India were declared as the hosts of the 14th edition of the championship.[7][8] On 19 March 2023, AIFF announced Bangalore as the host city for SAFF Championship 2023.[9]
Participating nations
Football Sri Lanka was sanctioned by FIFA on 21 January 2023, which made them ineligible for participation in the competition.[5] Kuwait and Lebanon were invited as guest teams with a view to increase the number of teams for the championship and make the event more competitive.[10]
| Country | Appearance | Previous best performance | FIFA ranking (6 April 2023)[11] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh |
13th | Champions (2003) | 192 |
 Bhutan |
9th | Semi-finals (2008) | 185 |
| India |
14th | Champions (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021) | 101 |
| Kuwait |
1st | Debut (invitee) | 143 |
 Lebanon |
1st | Debut (invitee) | 99 |
 Maldives |
12th | Champions (2008, 2018) | 154 |
| Nepal |
14th | Runners-up (2021) | 174 |
 Pakistan |
12th | Third place (1997) | 195 |
Squads
Each team had to register a squad with a minimum of 18 players and a maximum of 23 players, at least three of whom must be goalkeepers.
Venue
The Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore, Karnataka, India hosted all the matches.[9]
| Bangalore | |
|---|---|
| Sree Kanteerava Stadium | |
| 12°58′10.92″N 77°35′36.24″E | |
| Capacity: 25,810 | |
 |
Draw
Officiating
- Referees
Md Alamgir Sarker
Pema Tshewang
Crystal John
Sinan Hussain
Prajwol Chhetri
Irshad Ul Haq
- Assistant referees
- Mohammad Nuruzzaman
- Phurpa Wangchuk
- S Manikandan
- Sumanta Dutta
- Ahmed Hassan
- Nani Ram Thapa Magar
Group stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuwait |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 7 | Qualified for Semi-finals |
| 2 | India (H) |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 7 | |
| 3 | Nepal |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | Pakistan |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | −9 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 0–4 | Kuwait |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Nepal | 0–2 | India |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lebanon |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 9 | Qualified for Semi-finals |
| 2 | Bangladesh |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | |
| 3 | Maldives |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Bhutan |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 |
| Lebanon | 2–0 | Bangladesh |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Knockout stage
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 1 July 2023 | ||||||
| Kuwait (a.e.t.) | 1 | |||||
| 4 July 2023 | ||||||
| Bangladesh | 0 | |||||
| Kuwait | 1 (4) | |||||
| 1 July 2023 | ||||||
| India (p) | 1 (5) | |||||
| Lebanon | 0 (2) | |||||
| India (p) | 0 (4) | |||||
Semi-finals
| Kuwait | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Bangladesh |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Final
Statistics
Goalscorers
There were 38 goals scored in 15 matches, for an average of 2.53 goals per match.
5 goals
2 goals
1 goal
- Tariq Kazi
- Tsenda Dorji
- Chencho Gyeltshen
- Udanta Singh Kumam
- Naorem Mahesh Singh
- Lallianzuala Chhangte
Abdullah Al-Buloushi- Mohammad Daham
- Khalid El Ebrahim
- Hasan Al-Enezi
- Eid Naser Al-Rasheedi
Ali Al Haj- Mohamad Omar Sadek
- Mahdi Zein
- Naiz Hassan
- Anjan Bista
- Aashish Chaudhary
1 own goal
- Phuntsho Jigme (against Bangladesh)
- Anwar Ali (against Kuwait)
Awards
| Most Valuable Player | Top Scorer | Goalkeeper | Fair Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunil Chhetri |
Sunil Chhetri (5 goals) |
Anisur Rahman Zico |
Nepal |
Champion
| SAFF Championship 2023 |
|---|
 India 9th title |
Prize money
Broadcasting
See also
| Men's | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U-16 Championship | U-19 Championship | Senior Championship (Final) | |||
| Women's | |||||
| U-17 Championship | U-20 Championship | ||||