Draft:2026 SAFF Women's Championship

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2026 SAFF Women's Championship
Tournament details
Host countryIndia
CitiesMargao, Goa
Dates25 May – 6 June 2026
Teams6 (from 1 sub-confederation)
VenueFatorda Stadium
Final positions
Champions India (6th title)
Runners-up Bangladesh
Tournament statistics
Matches played9
Goals scored35 (3.89 per match)
Top scorer(s)India Aveka Singh
(4 goals)
Best playerIndia Sanfida Nongrum
Best goalkeeperIndia Panthoi Chanu Elangbam
Fair play award Nepal
← 2024
2028 →

The 2026 SAFF Women's Championship was the 8th edition of the SAFF Women's Championship, an international football competition for women's national teams from the South Asia region, organized by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The tournament was played in India from 25 May to 6 June 2026 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, Goa.[1]

Bangladesh were the defending champions.[2] On 6 June 2026, India beat Bangladesh by 3–1 in the final, winning the championship for the sixth time. India last won the title in the 2019 edition.[3][4]

Participating teams

The following six teams confirmed their participation in the tournament. Pakistan skipped this edition in India due to strenuous relations with the hosts.[5]

Country Appearance Previous best performance FIFA ranking[6]
(April 2026)
 India (Host)8thChampions (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2019)69
 Nepal8thRunners-up (2010, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2024)87
 Bangladesh8thChampions (2022, 2024)112
 Sri Lanka8thSemi-finals (2012, 2014, 2019)162
 Bhutan8thSemi-finals (2022, 2024)164
 Maldives8thSemi-finals (2016)167

Squads

Venue

All matches were played at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Margao, Goa.[1]

Margao
2026 SAFF Women's Championship (India)
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Capacity: 16,200
Margao Stadium outside image

Draw

The draw ceremony of the tournament was held at the SAFF Secretariat in Dhaka, Bangladesh on 22 April 2026. The seeding for the draw was done in accordance with the latest FIFA Rankings issued on April 21. India and Nepal were placed in Pot 1; Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were placed in Pot 2; and Bhutan and Maldives were placed in Pot 3. Finally, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan were drawn in Group A, and the host was drawn along with Bangladesh and the Maldives in Group B.[6][7]

Pots

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3
 India (H)
 Nepal		  Bangladesh
 Sri Lanka		  Bhutan
 Maldives

Result

Group A
Pos Team
A1  Nepal
A2  Sri Lanka
A3  Bhutan
Group B
Pos Team
B1  India
B2  Bangladesh
B3  Maldives

Match officials

Referees
  • Bhutan Choki Om
  • Bangladesh Sharaban Tahura
  • India Ranjita Devi Tekcham
  • India Rachana Kamani
  • Nepal Anjana Rai
  • Sri Lanka Y. A. P. Minisarani Yapa
Assistant Referees & Fourth Officials
  • Bhutan Tshering Choden
  • Nepal Merina Dhimal
  • Bangladesh Salma Akter Mone
  • India Debala Devi Elangbam
  • India Riiohlang Dhar
  • Sri Lanka H. M. Malika Madhushani
Match Commissioners
  • Bangladesh Subha Rahman
  • India Wendy D'Costa
Referee Assessors

Group stage

Tie-breaking criteria for group stage ranking

The ranking of teams in each group is determined by the points obtained in all group matches. If two or more teams are equal on points, the following criteria are used to determine the ranking:[8]

  1. Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  2. Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  3. Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
  4. If more than two teams remain tied after applying criteria 1–3, these criteria are reapplied exclusively to the subset of remaining tied teams;
  5. Goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Penalty shoot-out if only two teams are tied and they met in the last round of the group;
  8. Disciplinary points in all group matches (yellow card = −1 point, indirect red card = −3 points, direct red card = −3 points, yellow followed by direct red card = −4 points), with the fewest minus points ranked highest;
  9. Drawing of lots.
Key to colours in group tables
Group winners and runners-up advance to the Semi-finals

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Nepal 2 2 0 0 3 0 +3 6 Advance to knockout stage
2  Bhutan 2 1 0 1 4 1 +3 3
3  Sri Lanka 2 0 0 2 0 6 −6 0
Source: SAFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
Bhutan 0–1 Nepal
Report Rana 23'
Referee: Ranjita Devi Tekcham (India)
Player of the match: Rekha Poudel (Nepal)
Sri Lanka 0–4 Bhutan
Report
Attendance: 49
Referee: Anjana Rai (Nepal)
Player of the match: Pema Choden (Bhutan)
Nepal   2–0 Sri Lanka
 Report
Attendance: 761
Referee: Ranjita Devi Tekcham (India)
Player of the match: Rashmi Ghising (Nepal)

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  India (H) 2 2 0 0 14 0 +14 6 Advance to knockout stage
2  Bangladesh 2 1 0 1 4 5 −1 3
3  Maldives 2 0 0 2 2 15 −13 0
Source: SAFF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots
(H) Hosts
Maldives 0–11 India
Report
Attendance: 225
Referee: Sharaban Tahura (Bangladesh)
Player of the match: Aveka Singh (India)
Bangladesh 4–2 Maldives
 Report
Attendance: 127
Referee: Rachana Kamani (India)
Player of the match: Maria Manda (Bangladesh)
India 3–0 Bangladesh
 Report
Attendance: 553
Referee: Choki Om (Bhutan)
Player of the match: Sanfida Nongrum (India)

Knockout stage

In the knockout stages, if a match finished goalless at the end of normal playing time, extra time would have been played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner.

Bracket

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
 3 June – Margao
 
 
  Nepal 1
 
 6 June – Margao
 
  Bangladesh 2
 
  Bangladesh 1
 
 3 June – Margao
 
  India 3
 
  India 1
 
 
  Bhutan 0
 

Semi-finals

Nepal   1–2 Bangladesh
 Report
Attendance: 289
Referee: Choki Om (Bhutan)
Player of the match: Ritu Porna Chakma (Bangladesh)
India 1–0 Bhutan
Nongrum 58' Report
Attendance: 324
Referee: Y. A. P. Minisarani Yapa (Sri Lanka)
Player of the match: Sanfida Nongrum (India)

Final

Bangladesh 1–3 India
R. Chakma 45+1' Report
Attendance: 729
Referee: Anjana Rai (Nepal)
Player of the match: Sanfida Nongrum (India)

Winner

 8th SAFF Women's Championship 2026 

India
Sixth title

Awards

Most Valuable Player Top Scorer Best Goalkeeper Fair Play
India Sanfida Nongrum India Aveka Singh (4 Goals) India Panthoi Chanu Elangbam Nepal Nepal

Statistics

Goalscorers

There have been 35 goals scored in 9 matches, for an average of 3.89 goals per match.

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Source: Soccerway

Hat-tricks

  • Bold indicates the winner.
No. Player For Against Goals Result Date Ref.
1. Aveka Singh  India  Maldives
4
 11–0 25 May 2026 [9]
2. Pema Choden Tshering  Bhutan  Sri Lanka
3
 4–0 28 May 2026 [10]

Broadcasting

Country / Region Broadcasters Ref.
Global FanCode [11]
 Bangladesh T Sports
   Nepal DGO Stream

See also

References

  1. Mergulhao, Marcus (12 March 2026). "Goa set to host SAFF Women's Championship". The Times of India. Times News Network (TNN). Archived from the original on 13 March 2026. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  2. "Bangladesh clinches second consecutive SAFF Women's Championship with 2-1 win over Nepal". United News of Bangladesh. 30 October 2024. Archived from the original on 7 November 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  3. "India defeats Bangladesh and lifts SAFF Women's Championship 2026 trophy for record sixth time". Akashwani News. 7 June 2026. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  4. "India outclass Bangladesh to win SAFF Women's Championship after seven years". India Today. 6 June 2026. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  5. Mergulhao, Marcus (6 April 2026). "Pakistan to skip SAFF Women's Championship". The Times of India. Times News Network (TNN). Archived from the original on 17 April 2026. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  6. "FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2026. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  7. "Hosts India drawn with Bangladesh and Maldives in SAFF Women's Championship 2026". All India Football Federation. 22 April 2026. Archived from the original on 22 April 2026. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
  8. "Competition Regulations for SAFF Women's Championship 2026" (PDF). South Asian Football Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 June 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
  9. "Blue Tigresses put 11 past Maldives in SAFF Women's Championship 2026". All India Football Federation. 25 May 2026. Archived from the original on 26 May 2026. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  10. "SAFF Women Championship Report 3: Sri Lanka Women's vs Bhutan Women's" (PDF). South Asian Football Federation. 28 May 2026. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 May 2026. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  11. "FanCode is set to be the official broadcaster of the SAFF Women's Championship 2026". South Asian Football Federation. 23 May 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026 – via Facebook.