2015 SAFF Championship

2015 SAFF Championship
2015 SAFF Suzuki Cup
2015 SAFF Championship official logo
Tournament details
Host countryIndia
Dates23 December 2015 – 3 January 2016
Teams7 (from 1 confederation)
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
Champions India (7th title)
Runners-up Afghanistan
Tournament statistics
Matches played12
Goals scored44 (3.67 per match)
Top scorer(s)Afghanistan Khaibar Amani (4 goals)
Best player(s)India Sunil Chhetri
2013
2018

The 2015 SAFF Championship (officially known as the SAFF Suzuki Cup 2015[1] for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th edition of the SAFF Championship, the biennial international men's football championship of South Asia organized by SAFF. It was held in India from 23 December 2015 to 3 January 2016.[2]

Heading into the tournament, Afghanistan were the defending champions of the tournament, with it also being the last time they can officially take part, as they have become members of the newly formed Central Asian Football Association.[3]

Originally scheduled to take place in July 2015, monsoon season and schedule congestion led to the tournament being postponed to late December.[2] The tournament saw no participation from Pakistan, who withdrew from the tournament in November 2015 due a dispute within the nation's football federation.[4]

India was chosen as the host nation on 10 September 2013 with the host venue to be decided between Delhi and Kerala.[5] In July 2015, it was announced that matches during the tournament would be held at the Trivandrum International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.[2] This is the third time in which India has hosted the tournament, when it was known as the Gold Cup in 1999 and under the current name in 2011.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Sponsorships was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c Chaudhuri, Arunava (2 July 2015). "Trivandrum will host upcoming SAFF Cup in December 2015/January 2016". SportsKeeda. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Afghanistan FA Secretary General Sayed Alireza Aghazada: This is our last Participation in SAFF Championship". GoalNepal. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  4. ^ "Pakistan Withdraw From SAFF Cup Football in Kerala". NDTV Sports. 23 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  5. ^ "India to host 2015 SAFF Cup". Times of India. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2015.