Published 17:10 IST, October 6th 2021
SAFF Championship: All you need to know about schedule, teams, points table, top scorer
The 13th edition of the SAFF Championship is underway in Male, Maldives, and it is a biennial international men's football championship.
The 13th edition of the SAFF Championship is underway in Male, Maldives. It is a biennial international men's football championship. The Indian Football team, currently led by Sunil Chhetri, are the most successful team in the SAFF Championship, having won the competition seven times. The current champions are the Maldives, who defeated India 2-1 in the final.
Nations Participating in the SAFF Championship 2021
India
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Maldives
Pakistan and Bhutan to refrain from participating in the SAFF Championship 2021
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 what the consequences would be if the status quo was not restored. However, the situation did not change, and so they forced the FIFA Council to suspend Pakistan FA. This is why no footballing activity can be undertaken by the Pakistan national team.
On the other hand, Bhutan decided to abstain from participating in the tournament because the Bhutan government did not give the permissions required to send the national team abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SAFF Championship 2021 fixtures & results
| Date | Fixture | Time | Score |
|
October 1 |
Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh | 16:30 | 0-1 |
|
October 1 |
Nepal vs Maldives | 21:30 | 1-0 |
|
October 4 |
Bangladesh vs India | 16:30 | 1-1 |
|
October 4 |
Sri Lanka vs Nepal |
21:30 |
2-3 |
|
October 7 |
India vs Sri Lanka | 16:30 | TBP |
|
October 7 |
Maldives vs Bangladesh |
21:30 |
TBP |
|
October 10 |
Maldives vs Sri Lanka | 16:30 | TBP |
|
October 10 |
Nepal vs India |
21:30 |
TBP |
|
October 13 |
Bangladesh vs Nepal | 16:30 | TBP |
|
October 13 |
India vs Maldives | 21:30 | TBP |
All the matches are scheduled to be played at the National Football Stadium in Male, Maldives.
SAFF Championship 2021 table
| Position | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points |
| 1 | Nepal | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Bangladesh | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | India | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Maldives | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 5 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 0 |
*The table was last updated on October 4 after Sri Lanka vs Nepal match.
The final will be played between the teams that finish first and second in the SAFF Championship 2021 table on October 16.
Top scorers at SAFF Championship 2021
| Name | Goals |
|
Manish Dangi (Nepal)
|
1 |
|
Topu Barman (Bangladesh)
|
1 |
|
Sunil Chhetri (India)
|
1 |
|
Yeasin Arafat (Bangladesh)
|
1 |
|
Marvin Hamilton (Sri Lanka)
|
1 |
|
Dillon De Silva (Sri Lanka)
|
1 |
|
Suman Lama (Nepal)
|
1 |
|
Anjan Bista (Nepal)
|
1 |
|
Ayush Ghalan (Nepal)
|
1 |
Image: AP
Updated 17:10 IST, October 6th 2021