SAFF C’ship to host in June

Male’, MALDIVES – All India Football Federation (AIFF) has informed to SAFF that they can host the regional football tournament, SAFF Championship as early as June this year in Delhi.


The SAFF Championship 2015 was originally scheduled for later this year but AIFF has told organizers they can only stage the eight-nation tournament in June and not later this year.

"We cannot find any other slot. It's difficult to accommodate the tournament in December due to our packed calendar," AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said to Times of India.


"We have two options for now, Delhi and Goa. Since the tournament can only be played in the second half of June -- once the World Cup qualifiers are played -- I think Goa will be ruled out due to the onset of monsoon,"

According to the general secretary they will use two stadiums in Delhi, Nehru Stadium and Ambedkar Stadium and all matches will be played under lights.

When India won the bid to host the next edition of the tournament in 2013, it was thought December would be the perfect time for all South Asian nations. But India has the Indian Super League (ISL) to take care of, while the I-League kicks off almost immediately.

Meanwhile, organizers of the SAFF Cup are yet to decide whether this year's edition will include defending champions Afghanistan, who recently left South Asia and joined Central Asia. The final decision will be taken later this month after a meeting between SAFF, BFF president Kazi Salahuddin and AFC president Shaikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa.