SAFF U-18 CHAMPIONSHIP: Booters to battle India, Sri Lanka

Last edition’s runners-up Bangladesh have again been pitted against India in September’s SAFF U-18 Championship when the groups of the regional youth championship were determined at the BFF House yesterday.

Sri Lanka are Bangladesh’s other opponents in Group B, while two-time winners and defending Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Pakistan have been placed in Group A. The third edition of the tournament will start from September 20 at the Armed Police Force Stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal.   

Bangladesh will start their campaign with a match against Sri Lanka on September 21 and will then take on first edition runners-up India on September 25.

In the first edition in 2015, the boys in red and green put up a tremendous performance in their opening match and especially in the second half, coming back strongly from three goals down to hand mighty India a 4-3 defeat. Players like Jafar Iqbal, Mahbubur Rahman Sufil and Rahmat Mia became the toast of football fans for delivering the memorable performance.

Only five teams participated in the second edition in 2017, with matches taking place in a round-robin basis and the top two sides progressing to the final. Nepal beat Bangladesh 2-0 in the title bout in Thimphu, thereby retaining their title. 

The inclusion of Pakistan, who skipped the first two editions, this time enabled the teams to be split into two groups. 

In another move, South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) disclosed the fixtures of SAFF U-15 Women’s Championship where only four teams -- champions India, runners-up Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan -- are taking part. The round-robin league matches will take place at Changlimithang Stadium in Bhutan from October 9 to 15. Bangladesh will play against Bhutan on October 11 before taking on Nepal and India on October 11 and 13 respectively. The top two teams will play the final.