Football
Football: India drawn in Group B for men's SAFF U-19 C'ships
The men's U-19 SAFF Championships will be held in Arunachal Pradesh in May.
India celebrates after winning 2023 SAFF U19 C'ships (Photo credit: AIFF)
Hosts India were drawn alongside Nepal and Sri Lanka in Group B of the SAFF U19 Championship 2025 in the draw conducted in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday.
The Golden Jubilee Stadium in Yupia, Arunachal Pradesh, will host the third edition of the regional U19 men's tournament from May 9 to 18, 2025. The venue had also hosted the Santosh Trophy Final Round in March 2024.
Maldives, Bhutan and Bangladesh were drawn in Group A.
For the draw, the teams were seeded in three pots based on the latest FIFA Men's Rankings as of December 2024.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals that will be played on May 16. The final will take place on May 18.
India are the defending champions, having beaten Pakistan 3-0 in the final of the 2023 edition held in Kathmandu.
In 2024, the tournament was held for the U20s, where India lost to Bangladesh on penalties in the semi-finals.
This will be the fourth time India will host an age-group SAFF competition after U20 men's (Bhubaneswar 2022), U18 women's (Jamshedpur 2022) and U15 men's (Kalyani 2019).
SAFF U19 Championship 2025 Groups
Group A: Maldives, Bhutan, Bangladesh
Group B: India (hosts), Nepal, Sri Lanka
India's fixtures:
May 9: Sri Lanka vs India
May 13: India vs Nepal
May 16: Semi-finals
May 18: Final
