Template:Infobox international football competition
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.
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] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Fb | 13th | Template:Sort (2003) | 192 |
| Template:Fb | 9th | Template:Sort (2008) | 185 |
| Template:Fb | 14th | Template:Sort (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021) | 101 |
| Template:Fb | 1st | Debut (Template:Sort) | 143 |
| Template:Fb | 1st | Debut (Template:Sort) | 99 |
| Template:Fb | 12th | Template:Sort (2008, 2018) | 154 |
| Template:Fb | 14th | Template:Sort (2021) | 174 |
| Template:Fb | 12th | Template:Sort (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 | Template:Location map+ |
|---|---|
| Sree Kanteerava Stadium | |
| Template:Coord | |
| Capacity: 25,810 | |
| Aerial view Sree Kanteerava Stadium |
Draw
The draw ceremony of this tournament was held on 17 May 2023 at 12:30 IST in New Delhi, India.[12]
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Fb (99) Template:Fb (101) (hosts) |
Template:Fb (143) Template:Fb (154) |
Template:Fb (174) Template:Fb (185) |
Template:Fb (192) Template:Fb (195) |
Draw result
|
|
Officiating
- Referees
- Template:Flagicon Md Alamgir Sarker
- Template:Flagicon Pema Tshewang
- Template:Flagicon Crystal John
- Template:Flagicon Sinan Hussain
- Template:Flagicon Prajwol Chhetri
- Template:Flagicon Irshad Ul Haq
- Assistant referees
- Template:Flagicon Mohammad Nuruzzaman
- Template:Flagicon Phurpa Wangchuk
- Template:Flagicon S Manikandan
- Template:Flagicon Sumanta Dutta
- Template:Flagicon Ahmed Hassan
- Template:Flagicon Nani Ram Thapa Magar
Group stage
Group A
Template:2023 SAFF Championship group tables Template:Football box Template:Football box
Template:Football box Template:Football box
Template:Football box Template:Football box
Group B
Template:2023 SAFF Championship group tables Template:Football box Template:Football box
Template:Football box Template:Football box
Template:Football box Template:Football box
Knockout stage
Bracket
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Semi-finals
Template:Football box Template:Football box
Final
Template:Main Template:Football box
Statistics
Goalscorers
Awards
| Most Valuable Player | Top Scorer | Goalkeeper | Fair Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Fbicon Sunil Chhetri | Template:Fbicon Sunil Chhetri (5 goals) | Template:Fbicon Anisur Rahman Zico | Template:Fb |
Champion
Prize money
Prize money amounts were announced in 2023.[13]
| Position | Amount (USD) |
|---|---|
| Champions | 50,000 |
| Runner-up | 25,000 |
| Total | 75,000 |
Broadcasting
See also
| Men's | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U-16 Championship | U-19 Championship | Senior Championship (Final) | |||
| Women's | |||||
| U-17 Championship | U-20 Championship | ||||
- 2022 SAFF Women's Championship
- 2022 AFF Championship
- 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship
- 2023 CAFA Nations Cup
- 2023 WAFF Championship
- 2023 AFC Asian Cup
- 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bashundhara Toiletries Limited becomes title sponsor of SAFF Championship 2023. daily-sun.com(21 June 2023). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ↑ SAFF Championship 2021 Final: India defeats Nepal 3-0 to lift title for the eighth time. Sportstar(16 October 2021). Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ↑ Double, double toil and treble: Blue Tigers bask in SAFF C'ship glory. AIFF(5 July 2023). Retrieved 12 July 2023.
- ↑ FSL keen to host 2023 SAFF Tourney, Premlal, Sushil(10 October 2021). Retrieved 2021-10-17.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Suspension of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) from 21 January 2023 until further notice. digitalhub.fifa.com(22 January 2022). Retrieved 2023-01-27.
- ↑ সাফের স্বাগতিক হতে শুধু নেপালের আবেদন. Prothom Alo(29 January 2023). Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ↑ SAFF confirms Sports Partner International as the official commercial partner. saffederation.org(14 February 2023). Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ↑ SAFF Championship 2023: All you need to know, dates, schedule, match timings, venue. Sportstar(16 June 2023). Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Bengaluru to host 2023 SAFF Championship. the-aiff.com. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- ↑ Lebanon to compete in SAFF Championship. saffederation.org(8 May 2023). Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ↑ FIFA Men's Ranking. fifa.com. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
- ↑ SAFF Championship 2023 Draw on May 17, Indian Football Team eye consecutive titles - Follow SAFF 2023 LIVE, Chatterjee, Triyasha. www.insidesport.in(2023-05-15). Retrieved 2023-05-16.
- ↑ SAFF Championship 2023 Awards And Winners. India TV News. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ↑ India vs Pakistan, SAFF Championship live streaming; When and where to watch football match live. India Today(21 June 2023). Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ↑ Template:Cite tweet
- ↑ Template:Cite tweet
- ↑ Template:Cite tweet
- ↑ Template:Cite tweet
- ↑ Kantipur TV to broadcast SAFF Championship 2023 Live in Nepal. dailylivescores.com(7 June 2023). Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ↑ SAFF Championship 2023: Nepal vs India: Where and how to watch in India and Nepal?. khelnow.com. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ↑ How to Watch Pakistan Vs. Nepal SAFF Championship: Live Stream and Timings. propakistani.pk(27 June 2023). Retrieved 29 June 2023.
Template:SAFF Championship Template:2022–23 in Asian football (AFC)