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SAFF Championship is the prime international football competition of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The teams which are governed by the SAFF, can only participate in this prestigious competition. The prestigious competition kicked off in Lahore in 1993. It is held every two years. The 2021 edition of the tournament was postponed twice to October 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. India are the team with the most number of titles (8) in the history of this competition. The blue tigers are once again in the final in the 2023 edition to defend their 2021 title. Kuwait and Lebanon are the newcomers in this edition. Surprisingly, Kuwait are in the final which will be played on July 4th at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru. Before that, we'll have a look at the six interesting stats we must know about.
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Most Goals in the history of the SAFF Championship:
Ali Ashfaq (Maldives) was the player with the most number of goals in this competition. Sunil Chhetri equaled his tally after scoring 5 goals in the 2023 edition. He can get past him if he scores a goal in the final against Kuwait.
| Rank | Nation | Player | Goals scored |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maldives | Ali Ashfaq | 23 |
| India | Sunil Chhetri | ||
| 3 | India | Bhaichung Bhutia | 12 |
| 4 | Maldives | Ibrahim Fazeel | 10 |
| Maldives | Ahmed Thariq |
Top Goal scorers in every single edition:
The Blue tigers' skipper Sunil Chhetri is the only player to win the SAFF Championship Golden Boot more than 2 times. Everyone has the confirmation of Chhetri's Golden Boot win in the 2023 edition as well.
Read Also: India vs Kuwait: SAFF Championship 2023 Final Preview, Head to Head and Predicted Line-ups
Performance by the nations in every single edition:
India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Pakistan were the four teams that participated in the first edition of the SAFF Championship held in Lahore, Pakistan in 1993. At first, The competition was named the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation Gold Cup. In 2008, the name changed to the current one. India became the first-ever South Asian football champions after clinching the inaugural SAFF Championship in 1993.
| Nation | Champions | Runners-up | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | 8 (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021) | 4 (1995, 2008, 2013, 2018) | – |
| Maldives | 2 (2008, 2018) | 3 (1997, 2003, 2009) | 4 (2005, 2011, 2013, 2015) |
| Bangladesh | 1 (2003) | 2 (1999, 2005) | 3 (1995, 2009, 2023) |
| Afghanistan | 1 (2013) | 2 (2011, 2015) | – |
| Sri Lanka | 1 (1995) | 1 (1993) | 3 (2008, 2009, 2015) |
| Nepal | – | 1 (2021) | 3 (2011, 2013, 2018) |
| Pakistan | – | – | 2 (2005, 2018) |
| Bhutan | – | – | 1 (2008) |
| Lebanon | – | – | 1 (2023) |
| Kuwait | – | – | – |
The Winning Coaches of the Nations (1993-2021):
Syed Nayeemuddin and Sukhwinder Singh are the only coaches to win the title more than one time. The present Indian national team coach, Igor Stimac has the opportunity to equal the tally with both of them.
| Year | Team | Coach |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | India | Jiri Pesek |
| 1995 | Sri Lanka | Jorge Perreira |
| 1997 | India | Syed Nayeemuddin |
| 1999 | India | Sukhwinder Singh |
| 2003 | Bangladesh | George Kottan |
| 2005 | India | Syed Nayeemuddin |
| 2008 | Maldives | Jozef Jankech |
| 2009 | India | Sukhwinder Singh |
| 2011 | India | Savio Medeira |
| 2013 | Afghanistan | Mohammad Yousef Kargar |
| 2015 | India | Stephen Constantine |
| 2018 | Maldives | Petar Segrt |
| 2021 | India | Igor Štimac |
All-time points table:
The countries that played in the 2023 edition are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Lebanon, and Kuwait. Lebanon and Bangladesh kicked out by Kuwait and India in the Semi-Finals. Both teams will play against each other for the prestigious trophy. The Blue Tigers have a chance to extend the number if they defeat strong Kuwait in the Final.
| Rank | Team | Part | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 14 | 61 | 40 | 13 | 8 | 104 | 39 | +72 | 133 |
| 2 | Maldives | 12 | 50 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 98 | 52 | +46 | 86 |
| 3 | Bangladesh | 13 | 46 | 18 | 12 | 16 | 52 | 47 | +5 | 66 |
| 4 | Nepal | 14 | 46 | 14 | 7 | 25 | 51 | 68 | −17 | 49 |
| 5 | Sri Lanka | 13 | 41 | 13 | 7 | 21 | 48 | 65 | −17 | 46 |
| 6 | Pakistan | 12 | 39 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 32 | 51 | −19 | 44 |
| 7 | Afghanistan | 7 | 27 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 48 | 42 | +6 | 40 |
| 8 | Bhutan | 9 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 15 | 102 | −87 | 4 |
SAFF Championship winners list (1993-2021):
Maldives are the most successful national team after India with 2 titles. Bangladesh, Afghanistan (not a member of SAFF anymore), and Sri Lanka are the teams with 1 title each. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka received a suspension from the governing body of world football, FIFA. The ban makes Sri Lanka unable to neither host nor participate in the 2023 SAFF Championship.
| Year | Host | Winner | Runner-up |
| 1993 | Pakistan | India | Sri Lanka |
| 1995 | Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka | India |
| 1997 | Nepal | India | Maldives |
| 1999 | India | India | Bangladesh |
| 2003 | Bangladesh | Bangladesh | Maldives |
| 2005 | Pakistan | India | Bangladesh |
| 2008 | Maldives and Sri Lanka | Maldives | India |
| 2009 | Bangladesh | India | Maldives |
| 2011 | India | India | Afghanistan |
| 2013 | Nepal | Afghanistan | India |
| 2015 | India | India | Afghanistan |
| 2018 | Bangladesh | Maldives | India |
| 2021 | Maldives | India | Nepal |
