SAFF U-17 Championship

SAFF U-17 Championship
Founded2011
RegionSAFF
Teams7
Current champions India
(7th title)
Most championships India (7 titles)
2026 SAFF U-17 Championship

The SAFF U-15/U-16/U-17 Championship is an annual international football competition contested by the national teams of the members of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The first edition was held as SAFF U-16 Championship, where most teams sent their U-15 team, keeping in mind AFC U-17 Asian Cup hold every following years to SAFF U-16 Championship. In the 2017 edition, it was held as SAFF U-15 Championship and the subsequent 2022 edition, the SAFF U-17 Championship was introduced. The first edition of the tournament took place in Nepal in August 2011. The competition was launched under the leadership of SAFF President Kazi Salahuddin who was elected in 2009.[1][2][3]

Results

Ed. Year Cat. Host Final Third place playoff No. of
teams
Champion Score Runner-up Third place Score Fourth place
1 2011 U-16   Nepal
Pakistan
2–1
India

Nepal
2–1
Bangladesh
6
2 2013   Nepal
India
1–0
Nepal

Bangladesh
1–0
Afghanistan
7
3 2015 Bangladesh
Bangladesh
1–1
(4–2 p)

India
 Afghanistan and    Nepal 6
4 2017 U-15   Nepal
India
2–1
Nepal

Bangladesh
8–0
Bhutan
6
5 2018   Nepal
Bangladesh
1–1
(3–2 p)

Pakistan

India
1–0
Nepal
6
6 2019 India
India
7–0
Nepal

Bangladesh
RR
Sri Lanka
5
7 2022 U-17 Sri Lanka
India
4–0
Nepal
 Bangladesh and  Sri Lanka 6
8 2023 U-16 Bhutan
India
2–0
Bangladesh
 Pakistan and  Maldives 6
9 2024 U-17 Bhutan
India
2–0
Bangladesh
   Nepal and  Pakistan 7
10 2025 Sri Lanka
India
2–2
(4–1 p)

Bangladesh
 Pakistan and    Nepal 7
11 2026 Pakistan

Participating nations

Legend
  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • 3rd – Third place
  • 4th – Fourth place
  • SF – Semifinals
  • GS – Group stage
  • q – Qualified for upcoming tournament
  •     — Hosts
  •  ×  – Did not enter
  •  •  – Did not qualify
  •  ×  – Withdrew before qualification
  •     — Withdrew/Disqualified after qualification
  •     — Not part of SAFF
Team
2011

2013

2015

2017

2018

2019

2022

2023

2024

2025
Total
 Bangladesh 4th 3rd 1st 3rd 1st 3rd SF 2nd 2nd 2nd 10
 Bhutan × GS × 4th GS GS GS GS GS GS 8
 India 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 3rd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 10
 Maldives GS × GS GS GS × GS SF GS GS 8
   Nepal 3rd 2nd SF 2nd 4th 2nd 2nd GS SF SF 10
 Pakistan 1st GS × × 2nd × × SF SF SF 6
 Sri Lanka GS GS GS GS × GS SF × GS GS 8
Former member
 Afghanistan × 4th SF Not part of SAFF 2

Performance by nation

  • Bold: Indicates host.
Nation Champions Runners-up Third-place Fourth-place Semi-finalists
 India 7 (2013, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) 2 (2011, 2015) 1 (2018) N/a N/a
 Bangladesh 2 (2015, 2018) 3 (2023, 2024, 2025) 3 (2013, 2017, 2019) 1 (2011) 1 (2022)
 Pakistan 1 (2011) 1 (2018) N/a N/a 3 (2023, 2024, 2025)
   Nepal N/a 4 (2013, 2017, 2019, 2022) 1 (2011) 1 (2018) 3 (2015, 2024, 2025)
 Afghanistan N/a N/a N/a 1 (2013) 1 (2015)
 Bhutan N/a N/a N/a 1 (2017) N/a
 Sri Lanka N/a N/a N/a N/a 1 (2022)
 Maldives N/a N/a N/a N/a 1 (2023)

Awards

Year Top scorer(s) Goals Best player Fair play award
2011 Mohammad Bilal 4 Mansoor Khan Not awarded
2013 Bimal Magar 6 Krishna Pandit
2015 Saurabh Meher 3 Sarwan Zaman Nipu    Nepal
2017 Foysal Ahmed Fahim 6 Vikram Pratap Singh  Bangladesh
2018 Nihat Jaman Ucchash 4 Haseeb Khan  Bangladesh
2019 Himanshu Jangra 7 Himanshu Jangra  Bangladesh
2022 Mirajul Islam
Thanglalsoun Gangte
Unesh Budhathoki
4 Not awarded Not awarded
2023 Md Arbash 3 Md Arbash  Pakistan
2024 Sujan Dangol 4 Md Arbash  Bhutan
2025 Muhammad Abdullah 6 Nazmul Faysal  India

See also

References

  1. ^ "MEN (SAFF U17)". Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  2. ^ "SAFF U-17 Championship: India reinforce regional dominance with fourth crown". Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  3. ^ "SAFF U-17 Championship: India win title, defeat Nepal 4-0 in final". Retrieved 9 September 2023.