SAFF U-19 Women's Championship 2021: All you need to know

India finished at third place in the previous edition of the competition.

The SAFF U-19 Women's Championship is back! Founded in 2018, this year's edition is only the second of the competition to-date. A total of five teams are taking part this time, including India. Last edition's champions Bangladesh are the hosts this time.

The SAFF U-19 Women's Championship 2021 kicked off on December 11, 2021. Each team will face every other team in the group stage and the best two teams will advance to the final, which is set to take place on December 22, 2021. The competition was originally supposed to be held between July 13 and July 22 this year, but the COVID-19 pandemic and its related issues resulted in a five-month delay.

Today, Khel Now takes a look at all that you need to know about the SAFF U-19 Women's Championship 2021:

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Hosts and Venues

On October 14, 2021, the SAFF members board meeting took place in Male, Maldives. Following the meeting, Bangladesh were announced to be the hosts of the tournament.

All the games at the SAFF U-19 Women's Championship 2021 are being held at the BSSS Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh.

Participating Teams

All the four teams that took part in the SAFF U-19 Women's Championship 2018 are back for this edition as well. There is also a new addition in Sri Lanka.

The following are the teams participating in the SAFF U-19 Women's Championship 2021, along with their respective final positions on the standings in 2018:

• Bangladesh (Champions)
• Nepal (Runners-up)
• India (Third place)
• Bhutan (Fourth place)
• Sri Lanka (did not take part)

Fixtures

Group Stage

Saturday, December 11: Bhutan 5-0 Sri Lanka

Saturday, December 11: Bangladesh 0-0 Nepal

Monday, December 13: Bangladesh 6-0 Bhutan

Monday, December 13: India 5-0 Sri Lanka, Match Report

Wednesday, December 15: Nepal 6-0 Sri Lanka

Wednesday, December 15: India 3-0 Bhutan

Friday, December 17 Bangladesh 1-0 India, Match Report

Friday, December 17: Nepal 4-0 Bhutan

Sunday, December 19, Nepal 0-1 India, Match Report

Sunday, December 19, 6:30 pm: Bangladesh 12-0 Sri Lanka

Final

Wednesday, December 22, 5:30 pm: Bangladesh 1-0 India, Match Report

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India's Games

The Indian Women's U-19 football team will begin their SAFF Championship 2021 campaign on December 13, when they take on newbies Sri Lanka. On December 15, they will play Bhutan. On December 17 and 19, they will face Bangladesh and Nepal respectively.

Winning at least three of their four group stage matches will help India secure a birth in the final with ease. Their third-place finish in 2018 was disappointing to say the least and they would be eager to make amends this time around.

India's squad

The following is India's squad for the SAFF U-19 Women's Championship 2021:

Goalkeepers: Anshika, Adrija Sarkhel, Manju Ganjhu.

Defenders: Astam Oraon, Nisha, Nirmala Devi, Purnima Kumari, Shilky Devi, Ritu Devi, Kritina Devi.

Midfielders: Poonam, Nitu Linda, Babina Devi, Santosh, Priyangka Devi, Mariyammal Balamurugan, Anju.

Forwards: Karen Estrocio, Amisha Baxla, Lynda Kom Serto, Sumati Kumari, Apurna Narzary, Santhiya Nadupatti Venugadajalam.

Head Coach: Alex Mario Ambrose.

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