The draw for the under-16 and under-19 categories of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship was held at the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) house in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Saturday.
In the under-16 category, India was drawn with Nepal and Bangladesh while Pakistan, Bhutan and Maldives were drawn in the other group.
The tournament marks the return of Pakistan to the tournament, which, after being initially suspended by FIFA, got its clearance too late to participate in the Championship, last year (then the U-17 SAFF Championship).
India, on the other hand, won the summit clash, beating Nepal 4-0 at the Colombo Racecourse ground in Sri Lanka.
The 2023 edition of the tournament will be played at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu from September 1-10, 2023.
U16 SAFF Championship 2023 Groups:
In the under-19 category, India was drawn with Bhutan and Bangladesh in Group B, while Nepal, Maldives and Pakistan made up Group A.
Here. too, India will enter as the defending champion, having won the previous edition (the U20 SAFF Championship 2022) with a 5-2 rout over Bangladesh at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
This time, the tournament will be played at the Dashrath Stadium in Kathmandu from September 21-30, 2023. A major chunk of this squad will comprise the Blue Colts who represented India at the U-17 AFC Asian Cup in Thailand.
U19 SAFF Championship 2023 Groups:
The format of both competitions is the same. After a single round-robin group stage, the top two teams from both groups will meet in the semifinals, the winners of which will contest the final.
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