List of SAFF Championship winners and runners-up: The SAFF Championship, initially known as SAARC Gold Cup and established in 1993, has been held 14 times so far. The tournament began as a four-team event and later expanded to include eight teams.
From 1993 to 1999, the South Asian Football Championship was held every two years. However, there was a gap of four years before the next edition in 2003, followed by consecutive editions in 2008 and 2009.
In the inaugural edition, the winner was determined based on the points table standings after the round-robin stage. However, starting with the 1995 edition, the champion is decided through knockout rounds, including semi-finals and a final.
Of the seven participating teams, only five managed to win the title, as Afghanistan, which is no longer participating in the SAFF, won the championship before leaving to form the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA).
SAFF Championship – Successful Team
As for the most successful team in the SAFF Championship, India holds that distinction, having won the title a record nine times and finishing runners-up on four occasions. This means that India has reached the final in 13 of the 14 editions held so far.
The next most successful nation in the tournament is Maldives, with two SAFF Cup wins in five final appearances. Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have each won the coveted title once.
SAFF Championship โ Finals 1993 to 2023
In the history of the SAFF Championship, the final match went to extra time on four occasions, with two of them requiring a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. A previous final was decided by Sudden Death, while another match was resolved in extra time.
๐ฎ๐ณ INDIA is SAFF ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ for the 9th time! ๐
๐ 1993๐ 1997๐ 1999๐ 2005๐ 2009๐ 2011๐ 2015๐ 2021๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฏ#SAFF2023Championship #BlueTigers ๐ฏ #indianfootball โฝ pic.twitter.com/3iLJQSeyWG
โ Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball)
July 4, 2023
The tournament has also featured a third-place playoff match for the bronze medal, but this has been the case only in the inaugural edition and in the four subsequent editions. India (2003), Bangladesh (1995), Maldives (1999), Pakistan (1997) and Nepal (1993) have secured the third spot in the playoffs once so far. In the remaining eight editions there was no play-off match for third place. Nepal and Pakistan finished fourth twice each.
The SAFF Championship 2023 recently concluded and India became a stunning ninth-time champion. Eight teams participated in the championship, including Kuwait and Lebanon, which participated as guest nations.
SAFF Championship: full list of winners, finalists and past hosts
With each edition of the tournament, South Asian football continues to evolve and fans eagerly await the next chapter of this exciting football journey.
Here is the full list:
|
Year |
Hosts) |
Champions |
Final score |
Runners-up |
|
1993 |
Pakistan |
India |
All against all |
Sri Lanka |
|
nineteen ninety five |
Sri Lanka |
Sri Lanka |
1-0 (Sudden Death) |
India |
|
1997 |
Nepal |
India |
5-1 |
Maldives |
|
1999 |
India |
India |
2-0 |
Bangladesh |
|
2003 |
Bangladesh |
Bangladesh |
1-1 AET (5-3 PS) |
Maldives |
|
2005 |
Pakistan |
India |
2-0 |
Bangladesh |
|
2008 |
Maldives and Sri Lanka |
Maldives |
1-0 |
India |
|
2009 |
Bangladesh |
India |
0-0 AET (3-1 PS) |
Maldives |
|
2011 |
India |
India |
4-0 |
Afghanistan |
|
2013 |
Nepal |
Afghanistan |
2-0 |
India |
|
2015 |
India |
India |
2-1 TIE |
Afghanistan |
|
2018 |
Bangladesh |
Maldives |
2-1 |
India |
|
2021 |
Maldives |
India |
3-0 |
Nepal |
|
2023 |
India |
India |
5-4 APR |
Kuwait |
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Source: ptivs2.edu.vn