List of SAFF Championship winners (1993-2023)

List of champions and runners-up SAFF Championship: The SAFF Championship, originally known as the SAARC Gold Cup and established in 1993, has been held 13 times to date. The tournament started as a four-team competition and was later expanded to eight teams.

From 1993 to 1999, the Asian Men’s Football Championship was held every two years. However, there was a four-year hiatus before the next publication in 2003, followed by successive editions in 2008 and 2009.

In the first version, the winner is determined based on the ranking in the scoreboard after the round. However, starting in 1995, the champion was decided through knockout rounds, including semi-finals and finals.

Of the seven participating teams, only five won the title, as Afghanistan, which is no longer participating in SAFF, won the championship before leaving the Central Asian Football Confederation (CAFA).

SAFF Championship – Successful Team

In terms of the most successful team at the SAFF Championship, India holds that title, winning a record 8 times and runner-up 4 times as runners-up. This means that India has reached the final in 12 out of the 13 held so far.

The next most successful nation in the tournament is the Maldives, with two SAFF Cup winners in five finals. Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka each won the coveted title once.

SAFF Championship – final 1993 to 2023

In the history of the SAFF Championship, the final has gone into extra time four times, two of which had to be penalty kicks to decide the winner. One previous final was decided by Sudden Death, while the other was decided in extra time.

The tournament also featured a third-place knockout for bronze, but this was only the case for the first and subsequent four. India (2003), Bangladesh (1995), Maldives (1999), Pakistan (1997) and Nepal (1993) have each taken third place in the playoffs so far. Of the remaining eight editions, there was no knockout for third place. Nepal and Pakistan twice finished in fourth place.

A repeat of the championship in 2023 is underway. Eight national teams participating in the championship, including Kuwait and Lebanon, participated as guests. The winners and runners-up of the SAFF 2023 Championship will be announced soon.

SAFF Championship – Full list of previous champions, runners-up and 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 complete list:

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Source: vcmp.edu.vn