SAFF plans to hold Women’s C’ship annually

Panaji: The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) plans to capitalise on the surging growth and quality of women's football in the region and could stage the SAFF Women’s Championship every year.
The SAFF Women’s Championship has been held biannually since 2010 with India winning the first five editions and Bangladesh picking up the trophy for two consecutive editions. Nepal have made it to the final six out of seven times.
Even at the AFC Asian Cup earlier this year, India (world no. 69) and Bangladesh (112) made it to the continental stage, while Nepal (87) were unlucky to lose the final qualifier against Uzbekistan on penalties, results that highlighted South Asia’s growing profile in women’s football.
While two women’s teams made it to the 12-team Asian Cup, no team from South Asia has qualified for next year’s AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia, despite the tournament being expanded to accommodate 24 nations since 2019.
“It’s not been decided by the executive committee (yet), but the administration will propose to the committee to have the SAFF Women's Championship every year,” SAFF general secretary Purushottam Kattel told TOI. “This is the right time for us to develop women's football. It is one of those areas where we can do better in Asia or even at the global level.”
India and Bangladesh finished without a point at the Asian Cup, but like Kattel emphasised the performances were encouraging.
“India, Bangladesh and Nepal are among the stronger teams (in the region). There are other teams who are working hard to improve and stay positive. That’s what made us think of a competition every year. We need to find the resources (to organise the competition). We are working on this
“Within the South Asian region, the competition is tough, it’s unpredictable. Even our under-20 teams are doing well, two of them qualifying for the AFC U-20 championship. We need to ensure the teams now move to the next level,” said Kattel, who spent 17 years at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) before moving to SAFF.
The latest edition of the SAFF Women’s Championship kicked off in Goa earlier this week.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Bakrid wishes, messages and eid 2026