2021 SAFF Championship

The 2021 SAFF Championship, also known as SAFF Suzuki Cup 2021 for sponsorship reasons, will be the 13th edition of the SAFF Championship, the biennial international men's football championship of South Asia organized by SAFF. Initially it was decided to be held in Pakistan but later on decided to hold in Bangladesh. BFF organised the tournament three times before in 2003, 2009 and most recently in 2018. On 30 June 2020, the tournament was postponed until 2021 (exact dates to be announced) by SAFF due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Later, it was decided by members in the executive-committee meeting that it will take place in between 14th and 25th September 2021 [1] The tournament was originally scheduled for 19–30 September 2020.[2]

2021 SAFF Championship
Tournament details
Host countryBangladesh
Dates14–25 September
Teams7 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)

Host selection

On 11 April 2018, SAFF decided to allow Pakistan to host the 2021 SAFF Championship after the restoration of Pakistan Football Federation's membership by FIFA and since then it would be country's first international football tournaments.[3][4][5] However, on 15 September 2019, SAFF president Kazi Salahuddin and general secretary Anwarul Haque Helal along with representatives of seven member countries decided to host the regional tournament in Bangladesh. This would be the last edition to be held in even years, as it was decided that from next edition onwards the championship will be held in odd years.[6][7]

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was postponed from its original date of 2020 to 2021.[8]

Venue
Dhaka
Bangabandhu National Stadium
Capacity: 36,000

Participating nations
Country Appearance Previous best performance FIFA ranking
10 December 2020
 India13thChampions (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015)104
 Maldives11thChampions (2008, 2018)155
   Nepal13thThird-Place (1993)171
 Bangladesh (Host)12thChampions (2003)186
 Bhutan9thSemi-finals (2008)189
 Pakistan12thThird-Place (1997)200
 Sri Lanka13thChampions (1995)206

References
  1. "Executive Committee Meeting (SAFF)".
  2. "SAFF Championship 2020 postponed due to coronavirus". khelnow.com. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  3. "SAFF Championship 2020". FootballPakistan.com. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  4. "Pakistan to host SAFF Football Championship 2020". Daily Times. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  5. "Pakistan to host South Asia football championship and two other soccer tournaments". Arab News. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  6. "Bangladesh to host SAFF Championship in Sept 2020". Prothom Alo. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  7. "BD to host SAFF C'ship in Sept, 2020". The Daily Star. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  8. "Coronavirus: SAFF Championship postponed to 2021". Goal. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
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