SAFF Championship 2026 postponed amid India’s FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 participation

The SAFF Championship 2026 was initially planned to be played between September 21 and October 6.

The SAFF Championship 2026, which will be hosted in Bangladesh and was initially scheduled to be played between September 21 and October 6, has been postponed to a later date.

This decision comes after the Indian Football Team accepted an invitation from the governing body for world football to participate in the FIFA ASEAN Cup 2026 during the same international window.

According to reports by TOI, the SAFF Championship is now likely to be organised later this year, in November, during the international window from November 9 to November 17. This being a shorter window, the tournament will likely kick off a few days earlier than the window.

What was the reason for this decision?

The main reason behind this decision was India’s participation in the FIFA ASEAN Cup during the same period. India’s stature and importance as a major market in South Asian football also played a key role, as the SAFF Championship could have hit a wall without India’s participation.

“Based on the country’s size, football (stature) and the market, it’s very important for us to have India at the SAFF Championship. We have communicated with all our seven member associations and got their consent to have the tournament during the November window in Bangladesh”, SAFF general secretary Purushottam Kattel was quotted speaking TOI.

According to reports, there were also talks of sending the India U-23 team to the tournament if it was still played during the previous window. However, with the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) still being hopeful of getting the government’s permission to take part in the Asian Games, it seemed unlikely.

“Sending an under-23 team would have been damaging for the competition. Also, if India takes part in the Asian Games, the team would be weaker. No team wants to come to SAFF and lose; there’s pride at stake. Nov suits everyone, even if it’s a short window”, said Purushottam Kattel speaking to TOI.

Challenge that lies ahead

Well, now the big challenge that lies ahead is whether the clubs will release their players during the SAFF Championship 2026 as it is likely to start a couple of days ahead of the official international window in November.

Similar to what we have seen happening in the case of the Unity Cup, where Mohun Bagan SG have called back their players from the national camp, and also in the SAFF Women’s Championship 2026, where Manisha Kalyan can only join the Indian team when the window opens on June 1.

So, with many participants in the tournament having players playing abroad and with dual citizenships, this might create a situation of havoc.

“We need to see how the registration process will look like. There are a lot of foreign-based players, especially for countries (Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) that allow dual citizenship. They have players (based) abroad. We will have to start the tournament a bit early”, said Purushottam Kattel speaking to TOI.

For more updates, follow Khel Now on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.