SAFF Club Championship

The SAFF Club Championship is an premier club football competition of South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) region countries. Top teams of their professional leagues will compete in the tournament. The tournament will be played from the middle of 2024 on a home and away basis.

SAFF Club Championship
Founded2024
RegionSouth Asia
Number of teams16
2024

Format

A total of 16 clubs will participate in the first edition, four clubs each from India, Bangladesh, three clubs from Maldives, two clubs from Nepal, as well as one club each from Bhutan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, will participate in the competition.[1]

History

In April 2011, the South Asian Football Federation announced 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.[2] However, 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, are not altogether interested in participating.[3]

Sri Lanka was supposed to host first edition in August 2014.[4] That however did not happen.

A new possible start was set for December 2016 but later announced that 2017 would see the first edition.[5][6] This again was changed and announced that 2018 would be the start of the tournament.[7]

References
  1. Chatterjee, Triyasha (7 May 2023). "SAFF Congress 2023: President Kazi Salahuddin Confirms SAFF Club Championship from next year". insidesport.in. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  2. "Bangladesh to host inaugural SAFF club championship". Zeenews.india.com. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  3. "Salauddin laments India's lack of initiative towards SAFF Club Championship". Goal India. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  4. "First ever South Asian Club Championship to be played in Sri Lanka". SouthAsiaFootball.com. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  5. "Ranjith Rodrigo appointed acting President of SAFF". dailynews.lk. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  6. "Bangladesh to host SAFF Suzuki Cup". maldivessoccer.com. 25 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  7. "SAFF to hold biennial club tournament from 2018". Dawn. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
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