# South Asian Football Federation

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

## 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.

## Presidents

| President | Years |
| P. P. Lakshmanan | 1997–2001 |
| Ganesh Thapa | 2001–2009 |
| Kazi Salahuddin | 2009–2016 |
| Ranjith Rodrigo (acting) | 2016 |
| Kazi Salahuddin | 2016–present |

## Member associations

| Code | Association | Joined in | National team | National league |
| BAN | Bangladesh | 1997 | Men'sU23U20U17U15FBSWomen'sW U23W U20W U17F | (Men, Women) |
| BHU | Bhutan | 2000 | Men'sU23U20U17U15FBSWomen'sW U23W U20W U17F | (Men, Women) |
| IND | India | 1997 | Men'sU23U20U17U15FBSWomen'sW U23W U20W U17F | (Men, Women) |
| MDV | Maldives | 1997 | Men'sU23U20U17U15FBSWomen'sW U23W U20W U17F | (Men, Women) |
| NEP | Nepal | 1997 | Men'sU23U20U17U15FBSWomen'sW U23W U20W U17F | (Men, Women) |
| PAK | Pakistan | 1997 | Men'sU23U20U17U15FBSWomen'sW U23W U20W U17F | (Men, Women) |
| SRI | Sri Lanka | 1997 | Men'sU23U20U17U15FBSWomen'sW U23W U20W U17F | (Men) |

### Former member

| Association | Year | Note |
| Afghanistan | 2005–2015 | Joined CAFA |

## Competitions

The South Asian Football Federation runs several competitions on subcontinental level.

### Clubs

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. 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.
Sri Lanka was supposed to host the first edition in August 2014.
A new possible start was set for December 2016 but later announced that 2017 would see the first edition. This again was changed and announced that 2018 would be the start of the tournament.
In January 2025, SAFF announced three new competitions: SAFF Club Championship, SAFF Women's Club Championship and the SAFF U-23 Championship.

### Current title holders

| Competition | Year | Champions | Details | Runners-up | Next |
| National teams ||||||||
| SAFF Championship | 2023 | India | Final | Kuwait | 2025 |
| U-23 Championship | | | | | 2026 |
| U-20 Championship | 2024 | Bangladesh | Final | Nepal | 2025 |
| U-17 Championship | 2024 | India | Final | Bangladesh | 2025 |
| South Asian Games | 2019 | Nepal | Final | Bhutan | 2026 |
| Women's national teams ||||||||
| SAFF Women's Championship | 2024 | Bangladesh | Final | Nepal | 2026 |
| U-19 Women's Championship | 2024 | Bangladesh India | Final | No runners-up | 2025 |
| U-16 Women's Championship | 2024 | Bangladesh | Final | India | 2025 |
| South Asian Games | 2019 | India | Final | Nepal | 2026 |
| Club teams ||||||||
| SAFF Club Championship | | | | | 2026 |
| Women's club teams ||||||||
| Women's Club Championship | | | | | 2025 |

### Titles by nation

| Nation | National team | National team | National team | National team | Women's national team | Women's national team | Women's national team | Women's national team | Total |
| Nation | SAFF | SAG | U18/U19/U20 | U15/U16/U17 | SAFF | SAG | U18/U19/U20 | U15/U16/U17 | Total |
| India | 9 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 33 |
| Bangladesh | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| Nepal | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Pakistan | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Maldives | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bhutan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Former member ||||||||||
| Afghanistan† | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | 1 |
| Invited guest ||||||||||
| Russia†† | | | | | | | | 1 | 1 |
| Kuwait | 0 | | | | | | | | 0 |
| Lebanon | 0 | | | | | | | | 0 |
| Total | 14 | 13 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 65 |
Note: (†) Member from 2005 till 2015 , (††) The Russian Under-17 team was invited to the Under-17 tournament

## Medals (1993–2024)

Last Update: 2024 SAFF U-19 Women's Championship (Total: 44 Editions)
Exclude Football at the South Asian Games and SAFF Club Championship.
* SAFF Championship (1993-2023) - 14 Editions
* SAFF Women's Championship (2010-2022) - 6 Editions
* SAFF U-20 Championship (2015-2023) - 5 Editions
* SAFF U-20 Women's Championship (2018-2024) - 5 Editions
* SAFF U-17 Championship (2011-2023) - 8 Editions
* SAFF U-17 Women's Championship (2017-2023) - 6 Editions
Without Semifinal Losers :
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | India (IND) | 25 | 10 | 6 | 41 |
| 2 | Bangladesh (BAN) | 10 | 12 | 4 | 26 |
| 3 | Nepal (NEP) | 4 | 12 | 8 | 24 |
| 4 | Maldives (MDV) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 | Pakistan (PAK) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | Afghanistan (AFG) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | Sri Lanka (SRI) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Russia (RUS) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Kuwait (KUW) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Bhutan (BHU) | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Totals (10 entries) | Totals (10 entries) | 45 | 43 | 24 | 112 |
With Semifinal Losers :
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | India (IND) | 25 | 10 | 7 | 42 |
| 2 | Bangladesh (BAN) | 10 | 12 | 12 | 34 |
| 3 | Nepal (NEP) | 4 | 12 | 15 | 31 |
| 4 | Maldives (MDV) | 2 | 3 | 8 | 13 |
| 5 | Pakistan (PAK) | 1 | 2 | 5 | 8 |
| 6 | Afghanistan (AFG) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | Sri Lanka (SRI) | 1 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
| 8 | Russia (RUS) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Kuwait (KUW) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | Bhutan (BHU) | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 11 | Lebanon (LBN) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (11 entries) | Totals (11 entries) | 45 | 43 | 63 | 151 |
* Note: Bangladesh and India shared gold in 2024 SAFF U-19 Women's Championship.

## SAFF teams at continental and global tournaments
### Legend

* 1st – Champion
* 2nd – Runner-up
* 3rd – Third place
* 4th – 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
* ‡ — Tournament was unavailable for the nation that year
* — 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

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 |
| Bangladesh | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | TBD | 0 | 11 |
| Bhutan | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | TBD | TBD | 0 | 3 |
| India | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | •• | ‡ | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | TBD | 0 | 11 |
| Maldives | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Not a FIFA member | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | TBD | 0 | 8 |
| Nepal | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | × | × | × | • | • | × | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | TBD | 0 | 9 |
| Pakistan | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | TBD | 0 | 9 |
| Sri Lanka | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | ‡ | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | TBD | 0 | 9 |
| Former member ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Afghanistan | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | Not a FIFA member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | • | • | • | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF 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 |
| Bangladesh | Part of Pakistan | Part of Pakistan | Part of Pakistan | Part of Pakistan | × | × | GS | • | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | TBD | 1 |
| India | × | • | 2nd | • | × | × | × | GS | • | • | • | • | • | • | GS | • | GS | GS | TBD | 5 |

### 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.
| Nation | 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 |
| Bangladesh | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | | 13th | 12th | 14th | 13th | | DQ | 20th | 24th | 24th | 20th | 15th | 20th | | 10 |
| India | 1st | 8th | 4th | 1st | 8th | 3rd | 13th | 8th | 6th | 16th | DQ | DQ | 16th | 10th | 14th | 14th | 26th | | 9th | | 16 |
| Maldives | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | Did not exist | | | | | | | | | 20th | 22nd | 20th | 17th | 21st | | | | 5 |
| Nepal | | | | | | | | | 16th | 18th | | 18th | 17th | | | | 29th | 22nd | | | 6 |
| Pakistan | | 6th | 9th | | | | 11th | | | 17th | 14th | | | 23rd | 21st | 22nd | 24th | 17th | | | 10 |
| Former member ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Afghanistan | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | | | 25th | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | Not a SAFF member | 1 |

#### Women's
##### AFC Women's Asian Cup

| 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 |
| India | × | × | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | × | × | × | × | GS | GS | GS | GS | GS | • | • | • | • | • | •• | TBD | TBD | 9 |
| Nepal | × | × | × | × | × | GS | GS | × | × | × | × | GS | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | • | TBD | TBD | 3 |
* ↑ India failed to name the required 13 players and were unable to play their match of the group stage against Chinese Taipei due to them having only fewer than 13 players left with the remaining team members testing positive for COVID-19. They were considered to have withdrawn from the competition, and all previous matches played by them were considered "null and void" and would not be considered in determining the final group rankings.

### Asian Games Women's football tournament

| Nation | 1998 (8) | 2006 (8) | 2014 (11) | 2018 (11) | 2022 (16) | Total |
| Bangladesh | | | | | 12th | 1 |
| India | 8th | | 9th | | 13th | 3 |
| Maldives | | DQ | 11th | 10th | | 2 |
| Nepal | | | | | 11th | 1 |

### Junior
#### Men's U-20
##### AFC U-20 Asian Cup

| Nation | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1980 | 1982 |
| Bangladesh | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | GS | × | GS | GS | 5th | × |
| India | × | × | × | × | GS | GS | GS | QF | QF | GS | × | × | QF | GS | GS | 1st | GS | GS | QF | GS | • | • |
| Nepal | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | GS | GS | × | GS | × | × | × | × | • | • |
| Pakistan | × | × | × | GS | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | × | GS | × | × | × | × | × | × | • |
| Sri Lanka | 8th | × | GS | × | GS | × | × | GS | QF | × | GS | GS | × | × | × | × | × | GS | × | GS | × | × |
| Nation | 1985 | 1986 | 1988 | 1990 | 1992 | 1994 | 1996 | 1998 | 2000 | 2002 | 2004 | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2012 | 2014 | 2016 | 2018 | 2023 | 2025 | Total |
| Bangladesh | • | × | • | • | • | × | GS | • | • | GS | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 6 |
| India | • | GS | × | GS | GS | × | GS | GS | • | QF | GS | GS | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 22 |
| Nepal | × | • | × | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | GS | • | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | • | 4 |
| Pakistan | • | • | • | • | • | × | • | • | GS | • | • | • | • | • | • | × | × | × | × | × | 3 |
| Sri Lanka | × | GS | × | • | × | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | × | • | × | × | • | • | • | • | 10 |

#### Men's U-17
##### FIFA U-17 World Cup

| Team | 1985 (16) | 1987 (16) | 1989 (16) | 1991 (16) | 1993 (16) | 1995 (16) | 1997 (16) | 1999 (16) | 2001 (16) | 2003 (16) | 2005 (16) | 2007 (24) | 2009 (24) | 2011 (24) | 2013 (24) | 2015 (24) | 2017 (24) | 2019 (24) | 2023 (24) | 2025 (48) | 2026 (48) | Total |
| India | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | R1 | • | • | • | TBD | 1 |

##### AFC U-17 Asian Cup

| Nation | 1985 | 1986 | 1988 | 1990 | 1992 | 1994 | 1996 | 1998 | 2000 | 2002 | 2004 | 2006 | 2008 | 2010 | 2012 | 2014 | 2016 | 2018 | 2023 | 2025 | Total |
| Bangladesh | × | GS | • | • | GS | • | • | GS | GS | × | GS | GS | DQ | • | • | × | • | • | • | • | 6 |
| India | • | • | • | GS | • | • | GS | • | • | QF | GS | • | GS | • | GS | • | GS | QF | GS | • | 9 |
| Nepal | • | × | • | • | • | × | × | • | GS | × | • | GS | • | • | • | GS | × | • | • | • | 3 |
| Pakistan | × | × | × | × | • | × | × | • | • | 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) | Total |
| India | GS | QF | GS | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 3 |
| Nepal | • | GS | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 1 |

#### Women's U-17
##### FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

| Team | 2008 (16) | 2010 (16) | 2012 (16) | 2014 (16) | 2016 (16) | 2018 (16) | 2022 (16) | 2024 (16) | 2025 (24) | Total |
| India | • | • | • | • | • | • | GS | • | • | 1 |

##### 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) | Total |
| Bangladesh | GS | × | × | × | × | • | GS | GS | • | 3 |
| India | GS | × | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | 1 |

## Rankings

Rankings are calculated by FIFA.

## Individual statistics
### Top goalscorer in men's football

    As of 10 November 2023
    Players in bold are active international players.

### Top goalscorer in women's football

    As of 20 June 2024
    Players in bold are active international players.