The draw for the SAFF U-19 Championship 2025 was conducted in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Tuesday, placing host India in Group B alongside Nepal and Sri Lanka. The tournament will be held at the Golden Jubilee Stadium in Yupia, Arunachal Pradesh, from May 9 to 18, 2025.
Group Stage Line-up
The competition will feature six teams divided into two groups:
– Group A: Maldives, Bhutan, Bangladesh
– Group B: India (host), Nepal, Sri Lanka
The teams were seeded based on FIFA Men’s Rankings as of December 2024. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals on May 16, with the final scheduled for May 18.
India’s Fixtures
– May 9: Sri Lanka vs India
– May 13: India vs Nepal
– May 16: Semi-finals
– May 18: Final
India enters the tournament as the defending champion, having won the 2023 edition with a 3-0 victory over Pakistan in Kathmandu. However, in the U-20 version of the tournament held in 2024, India was eliminated in the semifinals by Bangladesh on penalties.
Golden Jubilee Stadium to Host the Event
The Golden Jubilee Stadium in Yupia, which recently hosted the Santosh Trophy Final Round in March 2024, will serve as the venue for the SAFF U-19 Championship. This marks the fourth time India will host an age-group SAFF competition, following the U-20 men’s (Bhubaneswar 2022), U-18 women’s (Jamshedpur 2022), and U-15 men’s (Kalyani 2019) tournaments.
With home advantage and a strong track record in the SAFF youth tournaments, India will be aiming to defend its title and continue its dominance in regional football.
