Fourteenth edition of the SAFF Championship
2023 SAFF Championship Tournament details Host country India Dates 21 June – 4 July Teams 8 (from 2 sub-confederations) Venue 1 (in 1 host city) Final positions Champions India (9th title) Runners-up Kuwait Tournament statistics Matches played 15 Goals scored 38 (2.53 per match) Attendance 93,993 (6,266 per match) Top scorer Sunil Chhetri (5 goals)Best player Sunil Chhetri Bestgoalkeeper Anisur Rahman Zico Fair play award Nepal
International football competition
The2023 SAFF Championship (known as the2023 Bangabandhu SAFF Championship for sponsorship reasons)[ 1] was the 14th edition of theSAFF Championship , the biennial international men'sfootball championship ofSouth Asia organised bySouth Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The event was held at theSree Kanteerava Stadium inBangalore , India from 21 June to 4 July 2023.
India , the defending champions, won their record-extending ninth championship by defeatingKuwait inthe final .[ 2] [ 3]
At the SAFF Executive Committee meeting, held on 17 October 2021 in theMaldives ,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 onlyNepal 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 inManama ,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 announcedBangalore as the host city for SAFF Championship 2023.[ 9]
Participating nations [ edit ] Football Sri Lanka was sanctioned by FIFA on 21 January 2023, which made them ineligible for participation in the competition.[ 5] Kuwait andLebanon were invited as guest teams with a view to increase the number of teams for the championship and make the event more competitive.[ 10]
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.
TheSree Kanteerava Stadium inBangalore ,Karnataka , India hosted all the matches.[ 9]
The draw ceremony of this tournament was held on 17 May 2023 at 12:30 IST inNew Delhi , India.[ 12]
Referees Md Alamgir SarkerPema Tshewang Crystal John Sinan Hussain Prajwol Chhetri Irshad Ul HaqAssistant referees Mohammad Nuruzzaman Phurpa Wangchuk S Manikandan Sumanta Dutta Ahmed Hassan Nani Ram Thapa Magar21 June 2023 (2023-06-21 )
15:30
21 June 2023 (2023-06-21 )
19:30
Sree Kanteerava Stadium ,Bangalore
Attendance: 22,860
Referee: Prajwol Chhetri (
Nepal )
24 June 2023 (2023-06-24 )
15:30
Sree Kanteerava Stadium ,Bangalore
Attendance: 309
24 June 2023 (2023-06-24 )
19:30
Sree Kanteerava Stadium ,Bangalore
Attendance: 12,642
27 June 2023 (2023-06-27 )
15:30
Sree Kanteerava Stadium ,Bangalore
Attendance: 250
27 June 2023 (2023-06-27 )
19:30
Sree Kanteerava Stadium ,Bangalore
Attendance: 9,562
22 June 2023 (2023-06-22 )
15:30
Sree Kanteerava Stadium ,Bangalore
Attendance: 50
Referee: Crystal John (
India )
22 June 2023 (2023-06-22 )
19:30
Sree Kanteerava Stadium ,Bangalore
Attendance: 200
25 June 2023 (2023-06-25 )
15:30
Sree Kanteerava Stadium ,Bangalore
Attendance: 100
Referee: Prajwol Chhetri (
Nepal )
25 June 2023 (2023-06-25 )
19:30
Sree Kanteerava Stadium ,Bangalore
Attendance: 250
28 June 2023 (2023-06-28 )
15:30
Sree Kanteerava Stadium ,Bangalore
Attendance: 50
28 June 2023 (2023-06-28 )
19:30
Sree Kanteerava Stadium ,Bangalore
Referee: Crystal John (
India )
1 July 2023 (2023-07-01 )
15:00
Sree Kanteerava Stadium ,Bangalore
Attendance: 500
Referee: Crystal John (
India )
1 July 2023 (2023-07-01 )
19:30
Sree Kanteerava Stadium ,Bangalore
Attendance: 19,640
4 July 2023 (2023-07-04 )
19:30
Sree Kantiramva Stadium ,Bengaluru
Attendance: 24,563
Referee: Prajwol Chhetri (
Nepal )
There were 38 goals scored in 15 matches, for an average of 2.53 goals per match.
5 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal
SAFF Championship 2023 India 9th title
Prize money amounts were announced in 2023.[ 13]
Position Amount (USD ) Champions 50,000 Runner-up 25,000 Total 75,000
^a b "Bashundhara Toiletries Limited becomes title sponsor of SAFF Championship 2023" .daily-sun.com . 21 June 2023.Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved21 June 2023 .^ "SAFF Championship 2021 Final: India defeats Nepal 3-0 to lift title for the eighth time" .Sportstar .The Hindu .Press Trust of India . 16 October 2021.Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved28 June 2023 .^ Rawat, Akhil (5 July 2023)."Double, double toil and treble: Blue Tigers bask in SAFF C'ship glory" . AIFF.Archived from the original on 12 July 2023. Retrieved12 July 2023 . ^ Premlal, Sushil (10 October 2021)."FSL keen to host 2023 SAFF Tourney" .The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) .Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved17 October 2021 . ^a b "Suspension of the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) from 21 January 2023 until further notice" (PDF) .digitalhub.fifa.com .Zürich . 22 January 2022.Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved27 January 2023 .^ "সাফের স্বাগতিক হতে শুধু নেপালের আবেদন" .Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 29 January 2023.Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved28 June 2023 .^ "SAFF confirms Sports Partner International as the official commercial partner" .saffederation.org . 14 February 2023.Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved14 February 2023 .^ "SAFF Championship 2023: All you need to know, dates, schedule, match timings, venue" .Sportstar .Chennai :The Hindu . 16 June 2023.Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved28 June 2023 .^a b "Bengaluru to host 2023 SAFF Championship" .the-aiff.com .Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved19 March 2023 .^ "Lebanon to compete in SAFF Championship" .saffederation.org . 8 May 2023.Archived from the original on 8 May 2023. Retrieved8 May 2023 .^ "FIFA Men's Ranking" .fifa.com .Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved15 June 2023 .^ Chatterjee, Triyasha (15 May 2023)."SAFF Championship 2023 Draw on May 17, Indian Football Team eye consecutive titles - Follow SAFF 2023 LIVE" .www.insidesport.in . Retrieved16 May 2023 . ^ "SAFF Championship 2023 Awards And Winners" .India TV News . Retrieved5 July 2023 .^ "India vs Pakistan, SAFF Championship live streaming; When and where to watch football match live" .India Today . 21 June 2023.Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved29 June 2023 .^ تلفزيون دولة الكويت [@KwtTelevision] (21 June 2023).للإعلان عبر تلفزيون دولة الكويت على القناة الثالثة الرياضية خلال مباريات بطولة كأس اتحاد جنوب اسيا لكرة القدم 2023 ، التواصل مع ادارة الاعلان التجاري والتسويق whatsapp : +965 22326688 (Tweet ) (in Arabic).Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved21 June 2023 – viaTwitter . ^ LBCI TV [@LBCILebanon] (20 June 2023).تابعوا مباراة منتخب لبنان ضد بنغلادش ضمن بطولة إتحاد جنوب آسيا لكرة القدم... الخميس الساعة 1 بعد الظهر على شاشة الـLBCI [Watch the Lebanon national team match against Bangladesh in the SAFF Championship... Thursday at 1:00 pm on LBCI] (Tweet ) (in Arabic).Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved21 June 2023 – viaTwitter . ^ @ICEmdv (20 June 2023)."The most awaited SAFF 2023 is here, brought to you by @medianetmv in partnership with @psm_mkt" (Tweet ).Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved21 June 2023 – viaTwitter . ^ @YES_Maldives (20 June 2023)."Get ready, Maldives! SAFF 2023 is here! @psm_mkt in partnership with @medianetmv brings you the action! Stay tuned for matches, goals, and unforgettable moments. Are you ready?" (Tweet ).Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved21 June 2023 – viaTwitter . ^ "Kantipur TV to broadcast SAFF Championship 2023 Live in Nepal" .dailylivescores.com . 7 June 2023.Archived from the original on 23 June 2023. Retrieved21 June 2023 .^ "SAFF Championship 2023: Nepal vs India: Where and how to watch in India and Nepal?" .khelnow.com .Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved29 June 2023 .^ Nasir, Saad (27 June 2023)."How to Watch Pakistan Vs. Nepal SAFF Championship: Live Stream and Timings" .propakistani.pk .Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved29 June 2023 .
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