2015 SAFF Championship

Football tournament between SAFF member states

2015 SAFF Championship2015 SAFF Suzuki Cup

2015 SAFF Championship official logo

Tournament details
Host country| India
Dates| 23 December 2015 – 3 January 2016
Teams| 7 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)| 1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions|  India (7th title)
Runners-up|  Afghanistan
Tournament statistics
Matches played| 12
Goals scored| 44 (3.67 per match)
Top scorer(s)|  Khaibar Amani (4 goals)
Best player(s)|  Sunil Chhetri

<- 2013

2018 ->

International football competition

The 2015 SAFF Championship (officially known as the SAFF Suzuki Cup 2015[1] for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th edition of the SAFF Championship, the biennial international men's football championship of South Asia organized by SAFF. It was held in India from 23 December 2015 to 3 January 2016.[2]

Heading into the tournament, Afghanistan were the defending champions of the tournament, with it also being the last time they can officially take part, as they have become members of the newly formed Central Asian Football Association.[3]

Originally scheduled to take place in July 2015, monsoon season and schedule congestion led to the tournament being postponed to late December.[2] The tournament saw no participation from Pakistan, who withdrew from the tournament in November 2015 due a dispute within the nation's football federation.[4]

India was chosen as the host nation on 10 September 2013 with the host venue to be decided between Delhi and Kerala.[5] In July 2015, it was announced that matches during the tournament would be held at the Trivandrum International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.[2] This is the third time in which India has hosted the tournament, when it was known as the Gold Cup in 1999 and under the current name in 2011.

## Participating nations

[edit]

Apart from hosts India, six other South Asian nations participated in the tournament, with Pakistan being the only nation not participating. There was no reason cited by the PFF but issues with the federation's elections have forced the courts to prohibit any activities.[6]

Participating nations The participating nations (Pakistan did not participate). Country  | Appearance  | Previous best performance  | FIFA ranking
Dec 2015

|
|
|

India (Host) | 11th | Champions (1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011) | 166
Afghanistan | 8th | Champions (2013) | 150
Bangladesh | 10th | Champions (2003) | 182
Bhutan | 7th | Semi-finals (2008) | 188
Maldives | 9th | Champions (2008) | 160
Nepal | 11th | Third-place (1993) | 192
Sri Lanka | 11th | Champions (1995) | 194

## Venue

[edit]

On 2 July 2015, it was announced that the matches during the tournament would take place at the newly constructed Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.[2][7]

Thiruvananthapuram |

Thiruvananthapuram

|

Trivandrum International Stadium
Capacity: 55,000

## Squads

[edit]

Main article: 2015 SAFF Championship squads

## Broadcasting

[edit]

The tournament was broadcast live in India on STAR Sports 4, Kantipur Television Network in Nepal, Lemar TV and Tolo TV in Afghanistan. Gazi TV in Bangladesh, Bhutan Broadcasting Service in Bhutan and Television Maldives in Maldives. Every match was broadcast live on YouTube.[8]

## Group stage

[edit]

All times are local, IST (UTC+5:30).

### Group A

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Status

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  India (H) | 2  | 2  | 0  | 0  | 6  | 1  | +5  | 6  | Qualified for semi-finals
2  |  Sri Lanka | 2  | 1  | 0  | 1  | 1  | 2  | −1  | 3
3  |  Nepal | 2  | 0  | 0  | 2  | 1  | 5  | −4  | 0  |

Source: soccerway.com
(H) Hosts

23 December 2015 (2015-12-23)

18:30

Nepal | 0–1|  Sri Lanka

|
|

| Report | Rifnas 90+5'

Trivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Attendance: 200

Referee: Jameel Juma Abdulhusain (Bahrain)

* * *

25 December 2015 (2015-12-25)

18:30

Sri Lanka | 0–2|  India

|
|

| Report | Singh 51', 73'

Trivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Attendance: 6,417

Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)

* * *

27 December 2015 (2015-12-27)

18:30

India | 4–1|  Nepal

|
|

Borges 26'
Chhetri 68'
Chhangte 81', 90' | Report | Magar 3'

Trivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Attendance: 8,093

Referee: Jameel Juma Abdulhusain (Bahrain)

### Group B

[edit]

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Status

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1  |  Afghanistan | 3  | 3  | 0  | 0  | 11  | 1  | +10  | 9  | Qualified for semi-finals
2  |  Maldives | 3  | 2  | 0  | 1  | 7  | 6  | +1  | 6
3  |  Bangladesh | 3  | 1  | 0  | 2  | 4  | 7  | −3  | 3  |
4  |  Bhutan | 3  | 0  | 0  | 3  | 1  | 9  | −8  | 0

Source: soccerway.com

24 December 2015 (2015-12-24)

15:30

Maldives | 3–1|  Bhutan

|
|

Imaz 9'
Abdulla 31'
Ashfaq 70' | Report | Dorji 20'

Trivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Attendance: 4,000

Referee: Sudish Pandey (Nepal)

24 December 2015 (2015-12-24)

18:30

Afghanistan | 4–0|  Bangladesh

|
|

Saighani 30'
Shayesteh 32'
Amiri 40'
Amani 69' | Report |

Trivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Attendance: 150

Referee: Pranjal Banerjee (India)

* * *

26 December 2015 (2015-12-26)

15:30

Bangladesh | 1–3|  Maldives

|
|

Biswas 86' | Report | Ashfaq 42' (pen.)
Hassan 90'
Nashid 90+5'

Trivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Attendance: 3,654

Referee: Võ Minh Trí (Vietnam)

26 December 2015 (2015-12-26)

18:30

Bhutan | 0–3|  Afghanistan

|
|

| Report | Amani 14', 51'
Saighani 42'

Trivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Attendance: 1,817

Referee: Nivon Robesh Gamini (Sri Lanka)

* * *

28 December 2015 (2015-12-28)

15:30

Bhutan | 0–3|  Bangladesh

|
|

| Report | Barman 8'
Rony 24' (pen.), 67'

Trivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Attendance: 218

Referee: Pranjal Banerjee (India)

28 December 2015 (2015-12-28)

18:30

Afghanistan | 4–1|  Maldives

|
|

Shayesteh 20'
Popalzay 34', 54'
Hatifi 51' | Report | Fasir 32'

Trivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Attendance: 1,751

Referee: Nivon Robesh Gamini (Sri Lanka)

## Knockout phase

[edit]

### Bracket

[edit]

| Semi-finals| | Final

|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  |

| 31 Dec – Thiruvananthapuram| |

|  India| 3

| 3 Jan – Thiruvananthapuram

|  Maldives| 2 |

|  India (a.e.t.)| 2

| 31 Dec – Thiruvananthapuram

| |  Afghanistan| 1

|  Afghanistan| 5

|  Sri Lanka| 0 |

### Semi-finals

[edit]

31 December 2015 (2015-12-31)

15:30

India | 3–2|  Maldives

|
|

Chhetri 25'
Lalpekhlua 34', 66' | Report | Nashid 45+2'
Amdhan Ali 75'

Trivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Attendance: 31,716

Referee: Võ Minh Trí (Vietnam)

* * *

31 December 2015 (2015-12-31)

18:30

Afghanistan | 5–0|  Sri Lanka

|
|

Hashemi 45+1'
Taher 50'
Amani 56' (pen.)
Hatifi 78'
Shayesteh 89' | Report |

Trivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Attendance: 300

Referee: Sudhish Pandey (Nepal)

### Final

[edit]

Main article: 2015 SAFF Championship Final

3 January 2016 (2016-01-03)

18:30

India | 2–1 (a.e.t.)|  Afghanistan

|
|

Lalpekhlua 72'
Chhetri 101' | Report | Amiri 70'

Trivandrum International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

Attendance: 40,500

Referee: Hiroyuki Kimura (Japan)

## Champion

[edit]

SAFF Championship 2015

India
Seventh title

## Awards

[edit]

The following awards were given for the 2015 SAFF Championship.[9]

Fair Play Award  | Most Valuable Player | Golden Boot Award

|
|

Maldives |  Sunil Chhetri |  Khaibar Amani

## Goalscorers

[edit]

4 goals

* Khaibar Amani

3 goals

* Faysal Shayesteh
* Jeje Lalpekhlua
* Sunil Chhetri

2 goals

* Masih Saighani
* Omid Popalzay
* Ahmad Hatifi
* Shakhawat Hossain Rony
* Lallianzuala Chhangte
* Robin Singh
* Ali Ashfaq
* Ahmed Nashid

1 goal

* Zubayr Amiri
* Sayed Mohammad Hashemi
* Kanischka Taher
* Hemanta Vincent Biswas
* Topu Barman
* Tshering Dorji
* Rowllin Borges
* Bimal Magar
* Ahmed Imaz
* Asadhulla Abdulla
* Amdhan Ali
* Naiz Hassan
* Mohamed Rifnas

## Team statistics

[edit]

This table shows all team performance.

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Final
1 |  India | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 12
2 |  Afghanistan | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 3 | +14 | 12
Semi-finals
3 |  Maldives | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 6
4 |  Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | -6 | 3
Eliminated in the group stage
5 |  Bangladesh | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 3
6 |  Nepal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0
7 |  Bhutan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0

Source:[10]

## Controversies

[edit]

During the first match of the tournament, both Sri Lanka and Nepal were wearing the same dark red jersey in the first half before Nepal changed into their blue second-kit for the second half.

## Sponsorship

[edit]

On 14 September 2015 it was announced that Suzuki would be the title sponsor of the SAFF Championship for 2015.[1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Suzuki Motor Corporation to sponsor SAFF Football Championship 2015". Times of India. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
2. ^ a b c d Chaudhuri, Arunava (2 July 2015). "Trivandrum will host upcoming SAFF Cup in December 2015/January 2016". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
3. ^ "Afghanistan FA Secretary General Sayed Alireza Aghazada: This is our last Participation in SAFF Championship". GoalNepal. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
4. ^ "Pakistan Withdraw From SAFF Cup Football in Kerala". NDTV Sports. 23 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
5. ^ "India to host 2015 SAFF Cup". Times of India. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
6. ^ "Pak withdraw from SAFF". NDTV Sports. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
7. ^ India win 2015 SAFF Championship title thedailystar.net. Retrieved 22 August 2021
8. ^ "TV Channels Broadcasting SAFF Championship 2015 Live Coverage". SportsCola. 5 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
9. ^ "Video of the award presentation". YouTube. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
10. ^ "South Asian Championship 2015/16 (Trivandrum)". Retrieved 11 December 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Official Site

* v
* t
* e

SAFF Championship

Tournaments|

* Pakistan 1993
* Sri Lanka 1995
* Nepal 1997
* India 1999
* Bangladesh 2003
* Pakistan 2005
* Maldives/Sri Lanka 2008
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Finals|

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International competitions|

* SAFF Championship
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Youth competitions|

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Member associations|

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Football in South Asian countries|

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National teams|

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Domestic leagues|

* Bangladesh
* M
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* SAFF
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*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
*[GD]: Goal difference
*[Pts]: Points
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template