India to play Bangladesh in SAFF Championship

NEW DELHI: The Indian women’s football team has been drawn alongside Bangladesh and the Maldives in Group B of the SAFF Women’s Championship to be held in Margao, Goa, from May 25 to June 6.

Group A features Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals, according to the draw conducted at the SAFF Secretariat in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Pakistan has decided not to send its team. This will be the second time India is hosting the SAFF Women’s Championship, after the 2016 edition in Siliguri, West Bengal, where India won their fourth title.

India are the record five-time champions of the SAFF Women’s Championship, having won titles in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2019. Bangladesh have won the last two editions, in 2022 and 2024.

“The seeding for the SAFF Women’s Championship 2026 draw was done in accordance with the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings issued on April 21.

India (69th) and Nepal (87th) were placed in Pot 1. Bangladesh (112th) and Sri Lanka (162nd) were placed in Pot 2. Bhutan (164th) and Maldives (167th) were placed in Pot 3,” said AIFF in a release.