2018 SAFF Championship
The 2018 SAFF Championship, also known as the 2018 SAFF Suzuki Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 12th edition of the SAFF Championship, the biennial international men's football championship of South Asia organized by SAFF. It was initially scheduled to be hosted by Bangladesh in December 2017, but later rescheduled to 4–15 September 2018.
| ২০১৮ সাফ চ্যাম্পিয়নশিপ | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Bangladesh |
| Dates | 4–15 September |
| Teams | 7 (from 1 sub-confederation) |
| Venue | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Maldives (2nd title) |
| Runners-up |  India |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 12 |
| Goals scored | 29 (2.42 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Manvir Singh  Hassan Bashir (3 goals) |
| Best player | Mohamed Faisal |
| Best goalkeeper | Mohamed Faisal |
| Fair play award |  Bhutan |
← 2015 2021 → | |
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The 2018 SAFF Championship, also known as the 2018 SAFF Suzuki Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 12th edition of the SAFF Championship, the biennial international men's football championship of South Asia organized by SAFF. It was initially scheduled to be hosted by Bangladesh in December 2017,[1] but later rescheduled to 4–15 September 2018.[2]
Host selection
[edit]On 2 January 2016, the SAFF executive committee made a decision that Bangladesh would host the 2017 SAFF Championship at a meeting held in Trivandrum, India. Maldives and Bhutan made bids to host the games but the latter withdrew its bid.[1]
This was the third SAFF Championship hosted by Bangladesh, after victory in the 2003 edition and semi-finalists in 2009.
The draw ceremony was held on 18 April 2018 in Dhaka.[3]
Participating nations
[edit]| Country | Appearance | Previous best performance | FIFA ranking 16 August 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bangladesh (Host) |
11th | Champions (2003) | 194 |
| Bhutan |
8th | Semi-finals (2008) | 183 |
| India |
12th | Champions (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015) | 96 |
| Maldives |
10th | Champions (2008) | 150 |
 Nepal |
12th | Third-Place (1993) | 161 |
| Pakistan |
11th | Third-Place (1997) | 201 |
 Sri Lanka |
12th | Champions (1995) | 200 |
Squads
[edit]Venue
[edit]| Dhaka | |
|---|---|
| Bangabandhu National Stadium | |
| Capacity: 36,000 | |
|
Officials
[edit]- Referees
- Rowan Arumughan
Hasan Akrami
Mohammad Arafah- Hettikamkanamge Perera
Hanna Hattab
Sivakorn Pu-udom
- Assistant Referees
- Manir Ahmmad Dali
- Sapam Kennedy
- Hassan Zeheiri
- Priyanga Palliya Guruge
- Apichit Nophuan
Ali Mohammed Al Hasani
Group stage
[edit]Group A
[edit]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nepal
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 6 | Qualified for semi-finals |
| 2 | Pakistan
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 | |
| 3 | Bangladesh (H)
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | |
| 4 | Bhutan
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | −9 | 0 |
| Bangladesh | 2–0 | Bhutan |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Bangladesh | 0–2 | Nepal |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Group B
[edit]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 | Qualified for semi-finals |
| 2 | Maldives
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 1[a] | |
| 3 | Sri Lanka
|
2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 1[a] |
Notes:
Knockout phase
[edit]Bracket
[edit]| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 12 September | ||||||
| Nepal | 0 | |||||
| 15 September | ||||||
| Maldives | 3 | |||||
| Maldives | 2 | |||||
| 12 September | ||||||
| India | 1 | |||||
| India | 3 | |||||
| Pakistan | 1 | |||||
Semi-finals
[edit]Final
[edit]Champion
[edit]| SAFF Championship 2018 |
|---|
 Maldives Second title |
Awards
[edit]The following awards were given for the 2018 SAFF Championship.
| Fair Play award[6] | Most Valuable Player[7] | Top Goalscorer[b][8][9] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bhutan
|
Mohamed Faisal
|
Manvir Singh
|
Goalscorers
[edit]There were 29 goals scored in 12 matches, for an average of 2.42 goals per match.
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Media coverage
[edit]| Country | Broadcaster | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh
|
Channel 9 | [10] |
| India
|
D Sport | [11] |
| Maldives
|
Television Maldives | |
| Nepal
|
AP1 Television | |
 United States
|
Bleacher Report | [12][13] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Bangladesh to host 2017 SAFF Championship". bdnews24.com. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ^ "GoalNepal.com – A Complete Nepali Football website". www.goalnepal.com. Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- ^ Independent, The. "SAFF tourney in Dhaka in Apr". theindependentbd.com. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
- ^ "India 2-0 Maldives". SAFF. 9 September 2018. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- ^ a b Suzuki Cup, SAFF (12 September 2018). "India vs Pakistan". Youtube.
- ^ "Fair Play Award". 15 September 2018.
- ^ "Most Valuable Player". 15 September 2018.
- ^ "South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, 2018 - goal scorers". 11vs11.
- ^ "Top Goalscorer". 15 September 2018.
- ^ "Bangabandhu Satellite-1 starts operation with Saff Suzuki Cup coverage". Dhaka Tribune. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ "SAFF Championship 2018: Teams, fixtures, broadcast schedules and more". Goal.com. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ "B/R Live – Watch live sports online". live.bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- ^ "Bleacher Report Support - Answer Detail". support.live.bleacherreport.com. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
External links
[edit]