SAFF Championship in Maldives from October 1-13

Maldives will host the next edition of SAFF Championship from October 1 to 13, confirmed SAFF general secretary Anwarul Haque Helal through an online press briefing today following a meeting of the SAFF.

Nepal and Maldives had expressed interest after Bangladesh, the original hosts, opted out of hosting earlier citing issues due to the pandemic.

The meeting held with the general secretaries of six countries came to the conclusion that Male, the capital of Maldives, will host the apex tournament of the South Asian region, informed Helal.

"The decision for Maldives hosting was unanimously approved in the meeting. The decision was taken in light of the comparatively better Covid situation in Maldives, where the vaccination of 80 percent people will be done by September," Helal said.

"The championship will be held in round robin format if five countries participate. In that case, the final will be held between the top two teams of the points table. However, if Bhutan plays, it will be in group format with two groups of three teams each with semifinals and final," Helal said, adding that the SAFF has given Bhutan three days to decide whether they will participate.

Bhutan had earlier informed they would not be able to participate this year due to travel restrictions in and out of the country due to the pandemic.

The five other countries are: Maldives, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Pakistan, the seventh country of the region, are ineligible to participate because of a FIFA suspension.