SAFF U-17 Women's Championship: India take on Nepal in first game

This is the first time the competition will be played for an U-17 age group.

India will begin their 2023 SAFF U-17 Women's Championship campaign against Nepal on Monday, March 20, 2023, at the BSSS Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The match will kick off at 14:45 IST and will be streamed live on the Sportzworkz YouTube Channel.

It's the first time the tournament is being staged for the U-17 age group. The previous editions were held for the U-15s, with India emerging champions in 2018 and 2019, beating Bangladesh in the final on both occasions. Nepal won the 2022 edition, finishing above Bangladesh and Bhutan in a three-team round-robin format.

Led by head coach Priya PV, India had been in training camps in Chennai and Indore over the past two months. The Young Tigresses also travelled to Jordan in February to play two friendlies against the hosts, winning 7-0 and 6-0.

In the pre-tournament press conference, Priya said, "All our players are new with little experience of playing international football. The SAFF U-17 Championship is a good platform for the upcoming women players to prove themselves."

India captain Heena Khatun cannot wait to don the blue of India. "We are very excited about this competition because it's our first tournament together and our first opportunity to represent our country. We'll do our best to win it," she said.

The SAFF U-17 Women's Championship will also serve as preparation for the AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup Qualifiers Round 1, which will take place in the Kyrgyz Republic next month. India have been drawn alongside the hosts and Myanmar.

After the Nepal clash, India will take on hosts Bangladesh, Bhutan and invited side Russia in the SAFF U-17 Women's Championship. The team that finishes top of the standings after the end of the round-robin stage will be crowned champions.