The seventh edition of the SAFF Women’s Championship will be held from October 17 to 30 at Dasarath Stadium in Kathmandu. Seven South Asian nations will participate in the championship.
Nepal will host the SAFF Women’s Championship for the third consecutive time. In 2022, the sixth edition was hosted in Kathmandu; in 2019, the fifth edition was hosted in Biratnagar. Before that, the championship was hosted by Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India.
India has won the SAFF Championship the most times, continuously winning the first five editions. Bangladesh won the last edition in 2022.
Read the overall history of the SAFF Women’s Championship below.
First edition (2010)
The South Asian Football Federation hosted the SAFF Women’s Championship for the first time in 2010. Altogether, eight nations participated in the first edition of the championship in Bangladesh.
Group A consisted of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan, while Group B included Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Maldives. India and Bangladesh advanced to the semi-finals from Group A, and Nepal and Pakistan advanced from Group B.
After the semi-final, Nepal and India reached the final. From group stage to semi-final, India scored 39 goals and Nepal scored 34 goals. Both teams did not concede any goal until the final.
In the final India won against Nepal by 1-0.
Sasmita Malik of India scored the winning goal in 65 minutes.
Second edition (2012)
The second of the SAFF Women’s Championship was organised in Sri Lanka. All the eight nations participated in the second edition. India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan were in Group A and Nepal, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Maldives were in Group B.
India and Sri Lanka from Group A advanced to the semi-final
For the second time, Nepal and India met in the final. India scored 19 goals in the group stage, without conceding a single goal similarly Nepal scored 20 goals, conceding a goal.
In the semi-final, India won against Afghanistan by 11-0. Similarly, Nepal won against Sri Lanka by 3-0.
In the final, Dipa Adhikari of Nepal scored the first goal in three minutes. Later, the match turned into an equaliser after Supruya Rautrey of India scored a goal in the eighth minute of the match.
The first half of the final concluded in 1-1. In the second half, Indian players Bembem Devi and Kamala Devi scored a goal and made India champion for the second time.
Third edition (2014)
The third edition of the SAFF Women’s Championship was held in Pakistan, where India became champions for the third consecutive time, and Nepal finished as runners-up for the third consecutive time.
India, Bangladesh, Maldives and Afghanistan were in Group A while Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bhutan were in Group B.
India and Bangladesh advanced to the semi-finals from Group A, while Nepal and Sri Lanka advanced from Group B.
A tough competition was expected in the final, but it did not meet expectations as Nepal was defeated 6-0 by India.
Fourth edition (2016)
The third edition of the SAFF Women’s Championship was hosted in India. Except for Pakistan, all other nations participated in the third edition of the SAFF Women’s Championship.
In the fourth edition as well India became the champion. Bangladesh reached the final for the first time.
Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan were in Group A. Likewise, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were in Group B.
Nepal and Maldives reached the semi-final from Group A, Bangladesh and India from Group B.
Nepal competed against India during the semi-final where the host nation won the match by 3-1. In another semi-final, Bangladesh won against Maldives by 6-0.
During the final match, India defeated Bangladesh by 3-1 goals.
By scoring 12 goals in the championship, Sabitra Bhandari of Nepal became the championship’s highest goal scorer.
Fifth edition (2019)
After nine years of hosting the first edition of the SAFF Women’s Championship, Nepal again hosted its fifth edition. The fifth edition took place in Biratnagar. This time as well Pakistan did not participate, and Afghanistan had already left SAFF. So there were only six participating nations.
Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan were in Group A. Group B included India, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Nepal and Bangladesh reached the semi-final from Group A, India and Sri Lanka from Group B.
In the group stage, Nepal scored six goals and India scored 11 goals. Both teams did not concede a single goal.
In the semi-final, Nepal defeated Sri Lanka and India defeated Bangladesh by 4-0 to enter the final.
Although it was on the home ground, Nepal could not beat India. India defeated Nepal by 3-1 goals.
Sixth edition (2022)
In 2022, Nepal hosted the SAFF Women’s Championship for the second time. Unlike the fifth edition, the sixth edition took place in Dasarath Stadium, Kathmandu. In this edition, Pakistan made their comeback in the SAFF.
India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Maldives were in Group A, and Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan were in Group B.
In the group stage, Bangladesh created a buzz by defeating India 3-0. Bangladesh and India reached the semi-final from Group A, Nepal and Bhutan from Group B.
In the semi-final, Nepal defeated India 1-0, marking Nepal’s first-ever victory against India in the SAFF Women’s Championship.
In another semi-final, Bangladesh defeated Bhutan by 8-0.
Whoever wins, Nepal or Bangladesh, would be the new champions. Earlier, Nepal had reached the finals four times.
Once again, Nepal had a chance to win the championship on home ground, but they were defeated 3-0 by Bangladesh in the final.
