SAFF Championship Winners List From 1993 to 2023

Fourteen editions. Nine titles for one team. Two stunning upsets.

And a 101st-minute goal that South Asian football fans still talk about.

The SAFF Championship winners list reads like a history of the region’s football – India’s sustained dominance, brief moments of rebellion from Bangladesh, Maldives, and Afghanistan, and a tournament that has quietly grown from a four-team round-robin into a proper international competition.

SAFF Championship Winners List

If you want the complete picture — every winner, every final score, every key stat – this is it.

Complete SAFF Championship Winners List (1993–2023)

*Kuwait participated as a guest team from WAFF.

Edition-by-Edition Breakdown

1993 — India won the First One Without a Final

Host: Pakistan (Lahore) | Format: Round-robin | Top Scorer: IM Vijayan (3 goals)

The inaugural tournament was small — four teams, no knockout stage, no final in the traditional sense.

India won it on points, staying unbeaten across matches against Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Pakistan. IM Vijayan announced himself early.

1995 — Sri Lanka’s Only Title

Host: Sri Lanka | Score: 1–0 (Sudden Death) | Winner: Sri Lanka

Still the biggest upset in SAFF final history. Sarath Wellage came off the bench and scored in sudden death to give Sri Lanka their only ever championship.

India, the defending champions, were beaten on home soil. Sri Lanka hasn’t reached another final since.

1997 — India’s Biggest Final Win

Host: Nepal | Score: 5–1 vs Maldives | Top Scorer: IM Vijayan (6 goals)

The tournament’s most one-sided final. India scored 12 goals across the whole tournament.

Vijayan had 6 of them — still one of the great individual performances in SAFF history.

Bhaichung Bhutia, Jo Paul Ancheri, and Amit Das also scored in the final.

1999 — India Win at Home

Host: India (Goa) | Score: 2–0 vs Bangladesh

Comfortable. Clinical. Bhutia got on the scoresheet again.

Bangladesh had no answer for India playing in front of a home crowd at the Fatorda Stadium in Margao.

2003 — Bangladesh’s Biggest Moment

Host: Bangladesh | Score: 1–1 AET (5–3 pens)

The only SAFF Championship final India didn’t even reach.

Bangladesh beat India 2–1 in the semis, kept a perfect clean sheet record in the group stage, and then converted all five penalties in the final against the Maldives.

One of the tournament’s great individual editions for a host nation.

2005 — India Bounce Back in Pakistan

Host: Pakistan (Karachi) | Score: 2–0 vs Bangladesh

Merajuddin Wadoo and Bhaichung Bhutia scored one each. India answered their 2003 exit with a clean, controlled final.

Bangladesh, despite reaching the final again, couldn’t do in Karachi what they had done in Dhaka.

2008 — Maldives Win on Home Soil

Host: Maldives & Sri Lanka | Score: 1–0 vs India

Maldives’ first-ever SAFF title. They won it in Malé, in front of their own fans, beating the dominant India side in a tight final.

India had possession but couldn’t convert. Home advantage played its part — as it has so often in this tournament.

2009 — India Win on Penalties

Host: Bangladesh | Score: 0–0 AET (3–1 pens)

Back-to-back editions, and the same two finalists as 2008. Neither team scored in 120 minutes.

India held their nerve in the shootout, converting three of four. Fifth title secured.

2011 — Sunil Chhetri Announces His Era

Host: India (New Delhi) | Score: 4–0 vs Afghanistan | Golden Boot: Sunil Chhetri (7 goals)

Chhetri’s 7 goals in the tournament remain one of his finest individual campaigns.

The final was not close – four different scorers, four goals, Afghanistan outclassed completely.

Clifford Miranda, Jeje Lalpekhlua, and Sushil Singh all got on the board.

2013 — Afghanistan’s Only Title

Host: Nepal | Score: 2–0 vs India

The shock result in the SAFF final history, at least in terms of the pre-match narrative.

Afghanistan reversed the 2011 scoreline, scored in each half, and gave India their worst final loss since 1995.

It remains Afghanistan’s only SAFF Championship title. They left SAFF two years later to join the Central Asian Football Association.

2015 — Chhetri at the 101st Minute

Host: India (Thiruvananthapuram) | Score: 2–1 AET vs Afghanistan | Golden Boot: Chhetri (7 goals again)

This is the one people remember. India and Afghanistan were level at 1–1 deep into extra time. Then Chhetri scored at minute 101.

It doesn’t get more dramatic. He won the Golden Boot for the second time in three editions. India avenged 2013. The tournament had its defining moment.

2018 — Maldives Do It Again

Host: Bangladesh | Score: 2–1 vs India

Maldives’ second title, won away from home this time. They led 2–0 before Sumeet Passi pulled one back for India in injury time.

The deficit was too large. India’s losing streak in SAFF finals — 2008, 2013, and now 2018 — became a real pattern during this stretch.

2021 — India Win Number Eight

Host: Maldives | Score: 3–0 vs Nepal | Golden Boot: Chhetri (5 goals)

Nepal reached its first-ever SAFF final. India showed no mercy — three second-half goals, a clean sheet, and controlled from start to finish.

Chhetri’s 5 goals took his SAFF Championship tally to 18 at that point. His international total reached 80, second only to Lionel Messi among active players at the time.

2023 — A Penalty Shootout Thriller

Host: India (Bengaluru) | Score: 1–1 AET (5–4 pens) vs Kuwait | Hero: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu

Kuwait came as a guest from WAFF. They took the lead. Lallianzuala Chhangte equalised.

It went to penalties. India won on a sudden death after goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu saved the decisive kick.

Chhetri equalled Ali Ashfaq’s record of 23 SAFF Championship goals. India won their ninth title.

SAFF Championship Records and Statistics

Most Titles

*Afghanistan participated from 2005 to 2013 before joining CAFA.

India have won 9 of 14 editions — a 64% win rate. They’ve reached 13 finals, missing only 2003. Their four runner-up finishes came in 1995, 2008, 2013, and 2018.

All-Time Top Scorers

Chhetri and Ashfaq share the record. Chhetri won the Golden Boot three times: 2011 (7 goals), 2015 (7 goals), and 2021 (5 goals).

Home Advantage: A Real Factor

Seven of fourteen editions were won by the host nation:

• Sri Lanka in 1995
• India in 1999, 2011, 2015, and 2023
• Bangladesh in 2003
• Maldives in 2008

That’s a 50% conversion rate for hosts. No other tournament stat is more consistent than this one.

India vs. Maldives in Finals: 3–2 to India

The tournament’s defining rivalry. They’ve met in the final five times: 1997, 2008, 2009, 2018, and various semifinals.

India leads, but the Maldives have won the two most recent final meetings before 2021.

How has the tournament changed?

The 1993 edition had four teams and no knockout rounds.

By 2023, eight teams competed in a group-stage-to-final format, and guest nations from West Asia were invited to raise the competitive level.

Afghanistan’s participation (2005–2013) added real unpredictability – they won in 2013 and reached three finals in five editions.

Their exit left a gap in quality competition that took years to fill.

Kuwait’s presence in 2023 as a guest showed SAFF is open to expanding its competitive pool.

Whether that becomes a permanent fixture will shape the tournament’s next decade.

FAQs

• How many times has India won the SAFF Championship?

India has won the SAFF Championship 9 times — in 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2021, and 2023. They have reached 13 of 14 finals, missing only the 2003 edition.

• Who is the all-time top scorer in the SAFF Championship?

Sunil Chhetri (India) and Ali Ashfaq (Maldives) both hold the record with 23 goals each. Chhetri equalled Ashfaq’s record during the 2023 final.

• When did Afghanistan win the SAFF Championship?

Afghanistan won their only SAFF Championship in 2013, beating India 2–0 in the final held in Kathmandu, Nepal. They left SAFF in 2015 to join the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA).

• Who was the host of the 2023 SAFF Championship?

India hosted the 2023 edition in Bengaluru. Kuwait participated as a guest from WAFF and reached the final before losing to India on penalties.

• Has Nepal ever won the SAFF Championship?

No. Nepal reached their first-ever final in 2021, losing 3–0 to India in Malé, Maldives.

• Which country has won the SAFF Championship on home soil the most?

India has won four times as hosts — in 1999, 2011, 2015, and 2023. Overall, 7 of 14 editions were won by the host nation.