Defending champion Bangladesh has been drawn alongside host India and Maldives in Group B of the 8th edition of the SAFF Women’s Championship 2026 scheduled to be held from May 25 to June 7 in Goa.
The official draw of the SAFF was held at the SAFF Secretariat in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Group A comprises Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan. The top two teams from each group will qualify to the semi-finals. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will be the venue for all matches of the SAFF Women’s Championship.
India will host the SAFF Women’s Championship for the second time after the 2016 edition in Siliguri, West Bengal, where the Blue Tigresses won their fourth title. It will also be the second time that Goa will set the stage of a SAFF tournament.
The seeding for the SAFF Women’s Championship 2026 draw was done in accordance with the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings issued on April 21. India (69th) and Nepal (87th) were placed in Pot 1. Bangladesh (112th) and Sri Lanka (162nd) were placed in Pot 2. Bhutan (164th) and the Maldives (167th) were placed in Pot 3.
Bangladesh won the last two editions of the SAFF in 2022 and 2024, while India is the record five-time champion, having won titles in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2019.
