# 2023 SAFF Championship

The 2023 SAFF Championship (known as the 2023 Bangabandhu SAFF Championship for sponsorship reasons) 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.

## 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. However, FIFA suspended Sri Lanka on 21 January 2023, which ceased them from hosting and participation in any football tournament.
Later on 30 January 2023, SAFF unofficially announced that only Nepal had applied for hosting rights till the deadline which is 29 January 2023. 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. On 19 March 2023, AIFF announced Bangalore as the host city for SAFF Championship 2023.

## Participating nations

Football Sri Lanka was sanctioned by FIFA on 21 January 2023, which made them ineligible for participation in the competition. 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.
| Country | Appearance | Previous best performance | FIFA ranking (6 April 2023) |
| 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.
| Bangalore | Bangalore |
| Sree Kanteerava Stadium | Bangalore |
| 12°58′10.92″N 77°35′36.24″E﻿ / ﻿12.9697000°N 77.5934000°E﻿ / 12.9697000; 77.5934000﻿ (Bangalore) | Bangalore |
| Capacity: 25,810 | Bangalore |

## Draw

The draw ceremony of this tournament was held on 17 May 2023 at 12:30 IST in New Delhi, India.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
| Lebanon (99) India (101) (hosts) | Kuwait (143) Maldives (154) | Nepal (174) Bhutan (185) | Bangladesh (192) Pakistan (195) |

### Draw result

Group A :
| Pos | Team |
| A1 | India |
| A2 | Kuwait |
| A3 | Nepal |
| A4 | Pakistan |
Group B :
| Pos | Team |
| B1 | Lebanon |
| B2 | Maldives |
| B3 | Bhutan |
| B4 | Bangladesh |

## 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 | Teamvte | 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 | Qualified for Semi-finals |
| 3 | Nepal | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | |
| 4 | Pakistan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | −9 | 0 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | Qualified for Semi-finals |
| 3 | Maldives | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Bhutan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 | |

## Knockout stage
### Bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 1 July 2023 | 1 July 2023 |
| Kuwait (a.e.t.) | 1 |
| Kuwait (a.e.t.) | 1 | 4 July 2023 | 4 July 2023 |
| Bangladesh | 0 | 4 July 2023 | 4 July 2023 |
| Bangladesh | 0 | Kuwait | 1 (4) |
| 1 July 2023 | 1 July 2023 | | Kuwait | 1 (4) |
| 1 July 2023 | 1 July 2023 | India (p) | 1 (5) |
| Lebanon | 0 (2) | India (p) | 1 (5) |
| India (p) | 0 (4) | | |

### Final
## Statistics
### Goalscorers

There were 38 goals scored in 15 matches, for an average of 2.53 goals per match.
5 goals
* Sunil Chhetri
2 goals
* Rakib Hossain
* Shekh Morsalin
* Mobarak Al-Faneeni
* Shabaib Al-Khaldi
* Khalil Bader
* Hassan Maatouk
* Hamza Mohamed
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

Prize money amounts were announced in 2023.
| Position | Amount (USD) |
| Champions | 50,000 |
| Runner-up | 25,000 |
| Total | 75,000 |

## Broadcasting

| Country | Broadcaster |
| Bangladesh | T Sports |
| India | DD Bharati, DD Sports, FanCode |
| Kuwait | Kuwait Television |
| Lebanon | LBCI |
| Maldives | ICE TV, Yes TV |
| Nepal | Kantipur Television |
| Pakistan | Geo Super, A Sports |