Bangladesh wins maiden SAFF U-20 Championship Football Tournament
Sport
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Bangladesh won its maiden SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) Men’s U-20 Championship by defeating host Nepal 4-1 in the final. The final was played at the ANFA Complex in Lalitpur, Nepal.
First Title for the Bengal Tigers
The Bangladeshi team, also famous as the Bengal Tigers, finally won the title in their fourth attempt at the finals. The Bangladeshi team appeared in the 2017,2019 and 2022 finals without any success.
However, in this fourth attempt, they defeated the host country, Nepal, to win their maiden title.
The Bangladeshi team defeated the favourite and defending champion, India, 4-3, in the penalty shootout in the semi-final to progress to the final.
Nepal defeated Bhutan 4-1 in the penalty shoot-out in the other semi-final to reach the finals.
2024 SAFF Men’s U-20 Championship football tournament
The 9th SAFF U-20 Men’s Championship football tournament was held in Nepal from 18 to 28 August 2024. The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) organises this biennial championship.
Male footballers below the age of 20 participate in the tournament.
Six teams -India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives participated in the tournament.
The teams were divided into two groups: Group A, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, and Group B, India, Bhutan, and the Maldives.
India has won the tournament in 2019, 2022, and 2023.
Awards
Most Valuable Player of the Tournament Award: Mirajul of Bangladesh
Best Goalkeeper: Md. Asif of Bangladesh
Fair Play Award: Nepal
About SAFF (South Asian Football Federation)
The South Asian Football Federation is a regional football association of the eight-member South Asian countries.
However, Afghanistan is the only South Asian country which is not a member of SAFF.
Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka founded SAFF in 1997. With the inclusion of Bhutan, the total number of members is seven.
SAFF organises two types of tournaments- one for seniors and the other for juniors.
The tournament organised for seniors is called the SAAF Championships.
The junior event for men is organised for the U-16, U-17, U-19 and U-20 categories.
The junior events for women are organised in U-15, U-16, U-17, U-18, and U-20 categories.
Headquarters: Dhaka, Bangladesh
President of SAFF: Kazi Md. Salahuddin of Bangladesh
