2015 SAFF Championship
| 2015 SAFF Suzuki Cup | |
|---|---|
 2015 SAFF Championship official logo | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | India |
| Dates | 23 December 2015 – 3 January 2016 |
| Teams | 7 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 11 |
| Goals scored | 41 (3.73 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Khaibar Amani (4 goals) |
← 2013 | |
The 2015 SAFF Championship (officially known as the SAFF Suzuki Cup 2015[1] for sponsorship reasons) is the 11th edition of the SAFF Championship, the biennial international men's football championship of South Asia organized by SAFF. It is being held in India from 23 December 2015 to 3 January 2016.[2] Afghanistan are the defending champions of the tournament.
Originally scheduled to take place in July 2015, monsoon season and schedule congestion led to the tournament being postponed to late December.[2] The tournament marks the last SAFF Championship for Afghanistan, who shall leave SAFF and join the newly-formed Central Asian Football Association once the tournament concludes.[3] The tournament shall also see no participation from Pakistan, who withdrew from the tournament in November 2015 due a dispute within the nation's football federation.[4]
India was chosen as the host nation on 10 September 2013 with the host venue to be decided between Delhi and Kerala.[5] In July 2015, it was announced that matches during the tournament would be held at the Trivandrum International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.[2] This is the third time in which India has hosted the tournament, when it was known as the Gold Cup in 1999 and under the current name in 2011.
Participating nations
As well as India, six other South Asian nations are participating in the tournament, with Pakistan being the only nation not participating after withdrawing.[4]
| Country | Appearance | Previous best performance | FIFA ranking entering tournament |
|---|---|---|---|
 India (Host) |
11th | Champions (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011) | 166 |
 Afghanistan |
8th | Champions (2013) | 150 |
 Bangladesh |
10th | Champions (2003) | 182 |
 Bhutan |
7th | Semi-finals (2008) | 188 |
 Maldives |
9th | Champions (2008) | 160 |
 Nepal |
11th | Third-place (1993) | 192 |
 Sri Lanka |
11th | Champions (1995) | 194 |
Venue
On 2 July 2015, it was announced that the matches during the tournament would take place at the newly constructed Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.[2]
| Trivandrum | |
|---|---|
| Greenfield Stadium | |
| Capacity: 50,000 | |
|
Squads
Broadcasting
The tournament is being broadcast live in India and Nepal on STAR Sports 4. Lemar TV and Tolo TV are broadcasting for Afghanistan. Gazi TV are broadcasting for Bangladesh and Bhutan TV and MBC are broadcasting the tournament in Bhutan and the Maldives respectively. Every match is broadcast live on YouTube[6]
Group stage
All times are local, IST (UTC+5:30).
| Key to colors in group tables | |
|---|---|
Teams that advance to the semi-finals
| |
Group A
Template:2015 SAFF Championship Group A table
| India | 4–1 | Nepal |
|---|---|---|
Borges  26'Chhetri 68'Chhangte 81', 90' |
Report | Magar 3' |
Group B
Template:2015 SAFF Championship Group B table
| Afghanistan | 4–0 | Bangladesh |
|---|---|---|
| Saighani 30' Shayesteh 32'Amiri 40'Amani 69' |
Report |
| Bhutan | 0–3 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Amani 14', 51' Saighani 42' |
| Afghanistan | 4–1 | Maldives |
|---|---|---|
| Shayesteh 20' Popalzay 34', 54' Hatifi 51' |
Report | Fasir 32' |
Knockout phase
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 31 Dec – Thiruvananthapuram | ||||||
| India | 3 | |||||
| 3 Jan – Thiruvananthapuram | ||||||
| Maldives | 2 | |||||
| India | ||||||
| 31 Dec – Thiruvananthapuram | ||||||
| Afghanistan | ||||||
| Afghanistan | 5 | |||||
| Sri Lanka | 0 | |||||
Semi-finals
| India | 3–2 | Maldives |
|---|---|---|
| Chhetri 25' Lalpekhlua 34', 66' |
Report | Nashid 45+2' Amdhan Ali 75' |
Final
Top scorers
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
|
|
- 1 goal
|
|
Controversies
A couple of days before the tournament, it was revealed by the head coaches of the participating nations that they were upset with the lack of proper training facilities and overall lack of organization of the tournament.[7] Committee Working President, V Sivankutty, said that the blame for the lack of organization was the responsibility of the tournament organizers.[7]
Meanwhile, the first match of the tournament was rife with troubles with both Sri Lanka and Nepal wearing the same dark red jersey in the first half before Nepal changed into their blue third-kit for the second half. December 2015
Sponsorship
On 14 September 2015 it was announced that Suzuki would be the title sponsor of the SAFF Championship for 2015.[1]
References
- ^ a b "Suzuki Motor Corporation to sponsor SAFF Football Championship 2015". Times of India. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d Chaudhuri, Arunava (2 July 2015). "Trivandrum will host upcoming SAFF Cup in December 2015/January 2016". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "Afghanistan FA Secretary General Sayed Alireza Aghazada: This is our last Participation in SAFF Championship". GoalNepal. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Pakistan Withdraw From SAFF Cup Football in Kerala". NDTV Sports. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "India to host 2015 SAFF Cup". Times of India. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ "TV Channels Broadcasting SAFF Championship 2015 Live Coverage". SportsCola. 5 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
- ^ a b "SAFF Cup hasn't even kicked off, but teams are already complaining about facilities and logistics". FirstPost. 22 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
External links
- 2015 in Asian football
- 2015–16 in Nepalese football
- 2015–16 in Indian football
- 2015 in Bhutanese football
- 2015 in Bangladeshi football
- 2015 in Maldivian football
- 2015 in Afghan football
- SAFF Championship
- Current sports events
- 2015 in Indian sport
- International association football competitions hosted by India