2026 SAFF Club Championship
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | India |
| Dates | July[1][2] |
| Teams | 8 (from 7 associations) |
| Venue | 7 (in 8 host cities) |
2027 → | |
2026 SAFF Club Championship will be the inaugural edition of the SAFF Club Championship, an international men's club football championship of South Asian countries organised by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). It was stalled for over a decade due to lack of sponsors.[3][4][5][6][7]
Format
[edit | edit source]Initially, a centralized venue was planned for the tournament. Eventually, a home-and-away format was finalized as the AIFF expressed reservations over allotting two weeks during the regular Indian football calendar. It was planned to be held in 2024, but postponed to 2026.[8][9]
Association team allocation
[edit | edit source]A total of 8 teams from 7 SAFF member associations are set to participate in the 2026 SAFF Club Championship. The association ranking based on the AFC member assosciation coefficient rankings is used to determine the number of participating teams for each association. This will include two teams from India and one team from Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.[10][11]
| Participation for 2026 SAFF Club Championship | |
|---|---|
| Participating | |
| Not participating | |
| SAFF rank | Member association | Slots |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | India India | 2 |
| 2 | Bangladesh Bangladesh | 1 |
| 3 | Maldives Maldives | 1 |
| 4 | Nepal Nepal | 1 |
| 5 | Sri Lanka Sri Lanka | 1 |
| 6 | Bhutan Bhutan | 1 |
| 7 | Pakistan Pakistan | 1 |
| Total | Participating associations: 7 | 8 |
Teams
[edit | edit source]The following teams will participate in the tournament:[12]
| Team | Qualifying method |
|---|---|
| India | 2025–26 Indian Super League runners-up |
| India | 2025–26 Indian Super League third place |
| Bangladesh | 2025–26 Bangladesh Premier League champions |
| Bhutan | 2025 Bhutan Premier League champions |
| Maldives | 2025 Dhivehi Premier League champions |
| Nepal | 2025–26 Martyr's Memorial A-Division League champions |
| Pakistan | 2025–26 Pakistan Premier League champions |
| Sri Lanka | 2025–26 Sri Lanka Super League champions |
Bracket
[edit | edit source]The matches will be played in home and away knockout format.[13]
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Quarter-finals
[edit | edit source]| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Semi-finals
[edit | edit source]| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Final
[edit | edit source]| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
See also
[edit | edit source]{{#section-h:2026 SAFF Championship|See also}}
References
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- ^ https://www.newagebd.net/post/others/254845/saff-2025-to-be-held-on-home-and-away-format
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