SAFF U17 Women's Championship fixtures announced; India to play Nepal in opening encounter

Bhutan will host the SAFF U17 Women’s Championship for the third time.

The eighth edition of the SAFF U17 Women’s Championship will kickstart on August 20, 2025, at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan.

Recently, two women’s teams from the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) made history by qualifying among the top 12 teams that will compete in Asia’s premier footballing competition, the AFC Asian Cup 2026, which is slated to take place in Australia.

All eyes will now be on the young girls from the U17 category to compete among the best and win the SAFF U17 Women’s Championship 2025.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Indian Football (@indianfootball)

A closer look at all SAFF U17 Women’s Championship teams

The tournament will feature four teams – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal. All the teams will play against each other twice, and the team with the maximum points will be crowned the champions. The tournament will be played across two weeks, and the matches will be played at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan.

In the last edition of the SAFF Championship that took place in the U16 format, Bangladesh managed to get past India 3-2 in penalties to lift their second title after becoming the inaugural champions back in 2017. They will be keen to defy all odds and clinch their third SAFF U17 title.

India, on the other hand, have won the SAFF U17 Women’s Championship twice, and on both occasions, Bhutan were the host, back in 2018 and 2019 consecutively. Joakim Alexandersson’s girls are one of the favourites to win the SAFF Championship this year.

Nepal have made one final appearance and also won the championship in 2022 when they defeated hosts Bangladesh to lift their only title. They can emerge as the dark horses of this tournament.

Bhutan’s best campaign has been securing the third spot thrice in eight years. The hosts will expect plenty of support from the football-loving people of Bhutan as they eye their first-ever SAFF U17 Women’s Championship trophy.

SAFF U-17 Women’s Championship fixtures

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.