The 2009

South Asian Football Federation Championship The South Asian Football Federation Championship, commonly known as SAFF Championship (previously known as ''South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation Gold Cup'' and ''South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup''), is the main international ...

was hosted by

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

from 4 to 13 December 2009. Bangladesh was awarded to host the tournament after the withdrawal of original hosts India. After India's reluctance to host the tournament, in May 2009, at the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...

(AFC) Congress in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

, Malaysia,

Bangladesh Football Federation Bangladesh Football Federation (, ''Bānlādēśa phuṭabala phēḍārēśana'') is the governing body that administrates the sport of association football in Bangladesh. It is in charge of running the country's men's and women's national tea ...

(BFF) president Kazi Salahuddin on his return from the AFC Congress informed that although India were still retaining their status as hosts of the championship, Bangladesh and Nepal had turned in fresh bids in anticipation of staging this prestigious eight-nation meet. A decision was taken at the FIFA Congress in Bahamas in the first week of June but no announcement was officially made. In July, with the tournament drawing ever closer, media reports once again suggested that the tournament would be moved once again to Bangladesh, as Pakistan would struggle to obtain visas if the tournament is hosted in India. On 31 August 2009, it was reported that the tournament would be held in Bangladesh, after the Indian football association (AIFF) had its annual congress at the end of August. This was formally confirmed by the AFC on 10 September through a press release.

Venue

The

Bangabandhu National Stadium Bangabandhu National Stadium ( bn, বঙ্গবন্ধু জাতীয় স্টেডিয়াম, ''romanised: Bongobondhu jateeyo stediyaam''), also known as Dhaka Stadium, and formerly known as Dacca Stadium, is the national s ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

was the only venue for the tournament. It is also home venue for

Bangladesh national football team The Bangladesh national football team ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয় ফুটবল দল) is the national recognised football team of Bangladesh and is controlled by the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF). It is a membe ...

Squads

Draw

The draw for the tournament was made on 3 October 2009. India took part with their U-23 teamhttp://www.indianfootball.com/en/news/articleId/1916

Group stage

Group A

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Group B

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Knockout stage

Semi-finals

Final

Champion

Goalscorers

;4 goals *

Enamul Haque Inam-ul-Haq ( ar, إنعام الحـــق ), meaning ''Gift of the Truth'', is a masculine Islamic given name.). Notable bearers of the name include; Cricketers * Inam-ul-Haq (Lahore cricketer) (born 1943), Pakistani cricketer *Enamul Haque ( ...

Ahmed Thariq Ahmed Thoriq (born 4 October 1980) is a Maldivian retired professional footballer, nicknamed "Tom". Biography He is from the island of Mahibadhoo in Alif Dhaal Atoll. International career His first competitive international tournament was the ...

* Channa Ediri Bandalage ;3 goals *

Ali Ashfaq Ali Ashfaq (; born 6 September 1985) is a Maldivian professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains the Maldives national team. Nicknamed "Man of Steel" (), he is regarded as one of the best players in the South Asian region. A proli ...

Ibrahim Fazeel Ibrahim Fazeel (born 9 October 1980) is a Maldivian footballer nicknamed "Oppo", who can play both as a midfielder and as a forward currently who plays for Llangefni Town FC He started his career while he was a student in Majeedhiyaa School in 1 ...

Arif Mehmood Arif Mehmood (born June 21, 1983) is a Pakistani former footballer who played as a striker. He has been the top-scorer in the Pakistan Premier League five times, leading the charts in 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10 and 2010–11 ...

Kasun Jayasuriya Kasun Nadika Jayasuriya (born 25 March 1980) is a retired Sri Lankan football player who last played for Saunders Sports Club and the Sri Lanka national football team. He is also the all-time top goalscorer for the Sri Lankan national team with ...

;2 goals *

Sushil Kumar Singh Chongtham Sushil Kumar Singh is an India football player. He is currently playing for NEROCA F.C. in Manipur's local statewide league. Career Mahindra United Singh started his footballing career at Mahindra United in the I-League and scored ...

Anil Gurung Anil Gurung ( ne, अनिल गुरुङ; born 17 September 1986) is a Nepali footballer who plays as a striker for Brigade Boys Club in the Martyr's Memorial A-Division League. He took retirement from the national team duty after 2019 ...

Muhammad Essa Muhammad Essa Khan (Urdu/Pashto: ; born on 20 November 1983) is a Pakistani former footballer who played as a forward. Essa is one of the most well known faces in Pakistani football, due to his regular goal scoring at international level. Clu ...

* Chathura Gunarathne ;1 goal *

Hashmatullah Barakzai Hashmatullah Barakzai ( ps, حشمت الله بارکزی, born August 26, 1987) is an Afghan football player who plays for Shaheen Asmayee F.C. in the Afghan Premier League. International goals Achievements Top Scorer of Kabul Premier Leag ...

Jahid Hasan Ameli Zahid Hasan Ameli ( bn, জাহিদ হাসান এমিলি; born 25 December 1987) is a Bangladeshi footballer who plays as a striker for Brothers Union and the Bangladesh national team. He is the current second top scorer of the ...

* Prantosh Kumar Das *

Nawang Dendup Nawang Dendup (also pronounced ''Dhendup'', born 20 September 1980) is a Bhutanese former association footballer, footballer and manager. He made his first appearance for the Bhutan national football team in 2005. Career statistics Internation ...

Jeje Lalpekhlua Jeje Lalpekhlua Fanai (born 7 January 1991) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a striker, and last appeared with Indian Super League club East Bengal. Between 2011 and 2019, he scored 23 goals in 56 international matches represe ...

Assad Ali Assad Ali is a retired Syrian professor of Arabic literature (formerly at the University of Damascus) and prolific writer of contemporary Arabic poetry. He is also the founder and chairman of the World Union of Arabic Writers. His writings deal ...

Bijaya Gurung Bijaya Gurung ( ne, बिजय गुरुङ) is a Nepali team midfielder who currently plays for Three Star Club. Gurung was the last player in the national team from the first batch of ANFA Academy. He was considered one of the most skillfu ...

Ju Manu Rai Ju Manu Rai (Nepali: जुमानु राई; born 24 January 1984 in Sarlahi District) is a Nepalese footballer, who currently plays for Nepal Police Club and the national side of Nepal. Career He used to play the local tournaments of foot ...

* Reis Ashraf *

Shabir Khan Shabir Khan (born 10 November 1985) is a footballer who plays for Worcester City, as a defender. He has spent his entire career at Worcester, having progressed through their youth system. He joined Gloucester City on a one-month loan deal in ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saff

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2009 in Asian football

2009–10 in Sri Lankan football 2009 in Maldivian football 2009–10 in Pakistani football 2009 in Nepalese sport 2009 in Bhutanese football 2009 in Bangladeshi football 2009 in Afghan football 2009–10 in Indian football