The 2015 SAFF Championship (officially known as the SAFF

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Cup 2015 for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th edition of the

SAFF 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 ...

, the biennial international men's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

championship of

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

organized by

SAFF South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), founded in 1997, is an association of the football playing nations in South Asia and is part of the larger Asian Football Confederation. The members of the association are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Mald ...

. It was held in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

from 23 December 2015 to 3 January 2016. Heading into the tournament,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

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 The Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) is an association of the football playing nations in Central Asia. In June 2014, the association was in principle approved by the Asian Football Confederation and approved at the Extraordinary Congr ...

. Originally scheduled to take place in July 2015,

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

season and schedule congestion led to the tournament being postponed to late December. The tournament saw no participation from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, who withdrew from the tournament in November 2015 due a dispute within the nation's football federation. India was chosen as the host nation on 10 September 2013 with the host venue to be decided between

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. In July 2015, it was announced that matches during the tournament would be held at the

Trivandrum International Stadium The Sports Hub, Trivandrum, commonly known as Greenfield International Stadium, and formerly known as Trivandrum International Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Kerala, used mainly for cricket. The stadium is located at Kariavattom in Thir ...

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

. This is the third time in which India has hosted the tournament, when it was known as the Gold Cup in

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and under the current name in

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Participating nations

Apart from hosts

, six other South Asian nations participated in the tournament, with

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.

Venue

On 2 July 2015, it was announced that the matches during the tournament would take place at the newly constructed

Greenfield Stadium Greenfield Stadium could refer to: * Greenfield Stadium (Trelawny), a multi-purpose stadium in Jamaica. * Greenfield Stadium, Bradford, a former rugby league, greyhound racing and speedway stadium in Bradford, England. * Greenfields Sports Ground, ...

Squads

Broadcasting

The tournament was broadcast live in India on

STAR Sports 4 Star Sports (formerly ESPN Star Sports) is a group of Indian multinational pay television sports channels owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. Previously a part of ESPN Star Sports wit ...

Kantipur Television Network Kantipur Television, popularly known as KTV, is a private television station based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The chairman and managing director is Kailash Sirohiya. Launched in July 2002, KTV is licensed for terrestrial and satellite transmission. Ka ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Lemar TV Lemar (Pashto:لمر, meaning "sun" in Pashto) is a television station based in Kabul, Afghanistan, which was founded in 2006. It is owned by MOBY Group. The channel broadcasts news, shows, and entertainment programs in the Pashto language. Its s ...

and

Tolo TV TOLO ( fa, طلوع, , sunrise) is a commercial television station operated by MOBY Group in Afghanistan. Launched in 2004, it became one of the first commercial stations in the country and laid the foundation for an accessible media outlet by of ...

. Gazi TV in

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 ...

Bhutan Broadcasting Service The Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS, dz, འབྲུག་རྒྱང་བསྒྲགས་ལས་འཛིན) is the state-owned radio and television service in Bhutan. A public service corporation which is fully funded by the state and ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

and

Television Maldives Television Maldives is the public service broadcasting TV channel of the Maldives. It was formed on March 29, 1978. In 2009, the management of Television Maldives (TVM) and national radio, Dhivehiraajjeyge Adu Voice_of_Maldives">nowiki/>Voice_o ...

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

. Every match was broadcast live on

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Group stage

All times are local,

IST Ist or IST may refer to: Information Science and Technology * Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Science and Technology * Graduate School / Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Japan * Graduate School ...

( UTC+5:30).

Group A

was also drawn into this group, but withdrew before playing. ---- ----

Group B

---- ----

Knockout phase

Bracket

Semi-finals

----

Final

Champion

Awards

The following awards were given for the 2015 SAFF Championship.

Goalscorers

; 4 goals *

Khaibar Amani Khaibar Amani (Dari: خیبر امانی; born 6 February 1987) is an Afghan football player currently playing for FC Hanau 93. Club career Amani previously has played for Kickers Offenbach, 1. FSV Mainz 05 II, Rot-Weiß Hadamar and TGM SV Jü ...

; 3 goals *

Faysal Shayesteh Faysal Shayesteh (; born 10 June 1991) is an Afghan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for I-League club Sreenidi Deccan and the Afghanistan national team. Youth career Born in Kabul, Shayesteh moved to the Netherla ...

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 ...

Sunil Chhetri Sunil Chhetri (born 3 August 1984) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward and captains both Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the India national team. Widely regarded as the greatest Indian footballer of all time, h ...

; 2 goals *

Masih Saighani Masih Saighani (Dari language, Dari: مسیح سیغانی; born 22 September 1986) is an Afghan association football, footballer who plays as a defender for German club Türk Gücü Friedberg in Hessenliga. Club career Aizawl On 26 August ...

Omid Popalzay Omid Popalzay ( prs, امید پوپلزی; born 25 January 1996) is an Afghan footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Nejmeh SC, Nejmeh and the Afghanistan national football team, Afghanistan national team. Youth Before joining Achilles ...

Ahmad Hatifi Ahmad Arash Hatifi (born 13 March 1986) is a professional football player who is a midfielder and currently plays for Oakland Stompers. Born in the United States, he represents the Afghanistan national team. Career Youth Born in Oakland, C ...

Shakhawat Hossain Rony Shakhawat Hossain Rony ( bn, সাখাওয়াত হোসেন রনি) is a Bangladeshi footballer who currently plays for Fortis FC in Bangladesh Premier League. He usually plays as a striker, but can also operate as right wing ...

Lallianzuala Chhangte Lallianzuala Chhangte (born 8 June 1997) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Indian Super League club Mumbai City and the India national team. He won the 2022–23 AIFF Men's Player of the Year award. ...

* Robin Singh *

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 ...

Ahmed Nashid Ahmed Nashid (born 4 April 1989) is a Maldivian footballer nicknamed "''Naattey''", who is currently playing for VB Addu FC. International career Nashid made his debut for the Maldives' senior team in a friendly match against Pakistan P ...

; 1 goal *

Zubayr Amiri Zubayr Amiri (Dari: زبیر امیري; born 2 May 1990) is an Afghan professional footballer who plays for SC Hessen Dreieich and the Afghanistan national team. Amiri operates in midfield, and can also play in a more attacking role; conside ...

* Sayed Mohammad Hashemi * Kanischka Taher *

Hemanta Vincent Biswas Hemanta Vincent Biswas ( bn, হেমন্ত ভিনসেন্ট বিশ্বাস; born 13 December 1995) is a Bangladeshi professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Sheikh Russel KC. He became the first Bangladeshi footba ...

Topu Barman Topu Barman (; born 20 December 1994) is a Bangladeshi professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Bangladesh Premier League team Bashundhara Kings, whom he captains and the Bangladesh national team. Club career Ealy Career Tapu Bu ...

Tshering Dorji Tshering Dorji aka ''Tshagay'' (born 11 September 1995) is a Bhutanese professional footballer who plays for Thimphu City FC as a midfielder. Dorji is best known for the late goal he scored against Sri Lanka, which gave Bhutan their first eve ...

Rowllin Borges Rowllin Borges (born 5 June 1992) is an Indian footballer who as a midfielder for Indian Super League club Mumbai City and the India national team. Early life and youth career Born in Nuvem, Goa, Borges began his youth career by joining ...

Bimal Magar Bimal Gharti Magar ( ne, विमल घर्ती मगर; born on 26 January 1998) is a Nepalese footballer who plays as a forward for Machhindra F.C. and Nepal national team. Bimal was the product of Central ANFA Academy, which is cont ...

Ahmed Imaz Ahmed Imaz (born 12 April 1992) is a Maldivian footballer nicknamed "''Aakko''", who is currently playing for Da Grande Sports Club. Club career Imaz signed for Club Eagles in 2011 and played three very successful seasons at the club, breaking t ...

Asadhulla Abdulla Asadhulla Abdulla (born 19 October 1990) is a Maldivian footballer who plays for Maziya. International career Abdulla made his debut for the Maldives' senior team in its first match of the 2012 Nehru Cup against Nepal in the starting line-up on ...

Amdhan Ali Amdhan Ali (born 11 September 1992), known as Andy is a Maldivian international Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Maldivian club Maziya S&RC, Maziya. International career Amdhan made hi ...

Naiz Hassan Naiz Hassan (born 10 May 1996), commonly known as Dhaadhu, is a Maldivian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Maziya S&RC in Dhivehi Premier League. Career Born in the Maldives, Naiz helped T.C. Sports Club secure promotion to th ...

* Mohamed Rifnas

Team statistics

This table shows all team performance. Source: SAFF

Controversies

During the first match of the tournament, both

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

were wearing the same dark red jersey in the first half before Nepal changed into their blue second-kit for the second half.

Sponsorship

On 14 September 2015 it was announced that

would be the title sponsor of the SAFF Championship for 2015.

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:2015 SAFF Championship 2015 SAFF Championship 2015 in Asian football 2015–16 in Indian football SAFF Championship International association football competitions hosted by India