The 2026 SAFF U-20 Championship was the 8th edition of the SAFF U-20 Championship, an international football competition for men's under-20 national teams from South Asia region, organized by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF). The tournament took place in Malé, Maldives, from 23 March to 3 April 2026.[1]
| Vector X SAFF U-20 Championship Maldives 2026 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Maldives |
| Dates | 23 March–3 April 2026 |
| Teams | 7 (from 1 sub-confederation) |
| Venue | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Bangladesh (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  India |
| Third place |  Nepal Bhutan |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 12 |
| Goals scored | 25 (2.08 per match) |
| Attendance | 23,864 (1,989 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Ilan Imran Omang Dodum(3 goals each) |
| Best player | Omang Dodum |
| Best goalkeeper | Md Ismail Hossain Mahin |
| Fair play award | Maldives |
← 2025 2027 → | |
On 3 April 2026, Bangladesh clinched their second title by defeating India 4–3 on penalties in the final after a 0–0 draw at the end of normal time.[2][3]
Venue
editThe National Football Stadium of Malé, Maldives hosted all the matches.
| Malé | |
|---|---|
| National Football Stadium | |
| Capacity: 11,850[4] | |
 |
Participant teams
editThe following seven national teams participated in the tournament.
| Team | Appearances | Previous best performance |
|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 8th | Champions (2024) |
| Bhutan | 7th | Fourth place (2017, 2019) |
| India | 8th | Champions (2019, 2022, 2023, 2025) |
| Maldives (Host) | 8th | Third place (2019) |
| Nepal | 8th | Champions (2015, 2017) |
 Sri Lanka | 5th | Group stage (2019, 2022) |
 Pakistan | 2nd | Runners-up (2023) |
Draw
editPlayers eligibility
editPlayers born on or after 1 January 2007 were eligible to take part in the tournament.
Squads
editAll the teams announced their squads before the tournament began.
Match officials
edit- Referees
- SM Jashim Akhter
- Jatinder Singh
- Raeef Rauf (†)
- Umesh Bidari (†)
- Mohamed Rideewita Withana Chirantha
- Virendha Rai (†)
- Anjum Adnan (†)
- Assistant Referees & Fourth Officials
- Bikash Sarker
- Wangchuk Phurpa
- Churchil Rana
- Shaheem Hussain
- Madhav Khatri Chhettri
- Don Lakshan Sampath
- Dilawar Khan
- Match Commissioners
- Abdul Ghafoor Abdul Hameed
- Mohamed Fairoze Muhiseen
- Referee Accessors
- Hettiarachchige Chathuranga Dilan Perera
(†): Also performed as assistant referee in some matches.
Group stage
edit| Key to colours in group tables | |
|---|---|
| Group winners and runners-up advanced to the Semi-finals | |
Group A
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nepal |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | Advanced to the Semi-finals |
| 2 | Bhutan |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Sri Lanka |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Maldives (H) |
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 2 |
- Nepal qualified for the Semi-finals as a result of this match.[7]
- Bhutan qualified for the Semi-finals as a result of this match.
Group B
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 4 | Advanced to the Semi-finals |
| 2 | Bangladesh |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 | |
| 3 | Pakistan |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | −5 | 0 |
Source: Sofascore
| Bangladesh | 2–0 | Pakistan |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Attendance: 2,550
Referee: Mohamed Rideewita Withana Chirantha (Sri Lanka)
Man of the Match: Ronan Sullivan (Bangladesh)
Man of the Match: Ronan Sullivan (Bangladesh)
- India and Bangladesh qualified for the Semi-finals as a result of this match.[8][9]
| Bangladesh | 1–1 | India |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Attendance: 3,932
Knockout stage
edit- In the knockout stage, if a match finished goalless at the end of normal playing time, extra time would have been played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner.
Bracket
edit| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 1 April – Malé | ||||||
| Nepal | 0 | |||||
| 3 April – Malé | ||||||
| Bangladesh | 1 | |||||
| Bangladesh (p) | 0 (4) | |||||
| 1 April – Malé | ||||||
| India | 0 (3) | |||||
| India | 5 | |||||
| Bhutan | 0 | |||||
Semi-finals
editFinal
edit| Bangladesh | 0–0 | India |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| 4–3 | ||
Attendance: 4,100
Champion
edit| 8th SAFF U-20 Championship 2026 Champions |
|---|
 Bangladesh Second title |
Statistics
editAwards
editBroadcasting
editSAFF officially released the list of broadcast channels for the tournament.
| Broadcaster(s) | Territory |
|---|---|
| Sportzworkz (YouTube channel) |
No restricted territory |
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Maldives Secures Hosting Rights for U20 SAFF 2026". Adhadhu. 11 December 2025. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
- ↑ "Bangladesh beat India to clinch U-20 SAFF Championship title". Dhaka Tribune. 3 April 2026. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
- ↑ "PM greets Bangladesh team for winning U-20 SAFF title". The Daily Star. Retrieved 4 April 2026.
- ↑ "National Stadium Maldives". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ↑ "SAFF U20 CHAMPIONSHIP MALDIVES 2026 DRAW CEREMONY". South Asian Football Federation. Retrieved 25 January 2026 – via Facebook.
- ↑ "Championship as Draw Is Held". Football Association of Maldives. 31 January 2026. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
- ↑ "साफ यु २० – नेपाल समूह विजेता बन्दै सेमिफाइनलमा". Hamro Khelkud. 27 March 2026. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
- ↑ "India blank Pakistan in SAFF U20 C'ship opener to secure semi-final spot". All India Football Federation. 26 March 2026. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
- ↑ "Bangladesh through to semis in SAFF U20 Championship". The Daily Star. 27 March 2026. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "টুর্নামেন্টসেরা বাংলাদেশের গোলরক্ষক, দেশবাসীকে শিরোপা উৎসর্গ". www.dhakapost.com (in Bengali). 3 April 2026. Retrieved 4 April 2026.