The SAFF Championship 2023 draw is all set to take place in New Delhi on Wednesday, May 17 at 12:30 PM IST.
Reigning champions India will be hosting this prestigious tournament for the fourth time with Bengaluru being declared as the host city for the tournament by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
The eight sides that will be participating in the upcoming tournament are India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives, Kuwait, and Lebanon.
Sri Lanka who feature regularly in the SAFF Championship and even expressed an interest in hosting the 2023 edition of the tournament will not be a part of it after they were suspended by FIFA. Kuwait and Lebanon have been invited as guest teams instead.
The upcoming SAFF Championship is the 14th edition of the tournament and it includes only South Asian Football Federation’s members.
The eight teams will be divided into two groups of four sides each during the draw and all teams will play the others in their respective group in a round-robin format.
The top two sides from each group will qualify for the semi-finals and the winners of the semi-finals will compete for the grand prize in the final.
All matches in this tournament will be held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru and the tournament is scheduled to begin on June 21 and will conclude on July 4.
Defending champions India is the most successful team in the history of the tournament with eight triumphs, while Maldives are next with two successful campaigns. The likes of Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka have one SAFF trophy each.
Where to watch SAFF Championship 2023 Draw live in India?
Live streaming of the SAFF Championship 2023 Draw will be available on the Indian Football Team’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
There will be no live telecast of the SAFF Championship 2023 Draw on any TV channel in India.
Photo credit: Alamy
