By Ranjika Perera

SAFF Championship 2021 - FACTS

# The 2021 SAFF Championship, known as Ooredoo SAFF Championship 2021 for sponsorship reasons

# It will be the 13th edition of the biennial tournament

# This international men’s football championship of South Asia is organised by the SAFF (South Asian Football Federation)

# Initially, it was decided to be hosted by Pakistan in 2020, but was postponed to September 2021 in Bangladesh

# However, the tournament was postponed again to October due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with Maldives coming in as its new host

# Dates: 1-16 October

# Venue: National Football Stadium (Capacity 11,850)

# Teams:

* Bangladesh [189**] (2003 champion)

* India [107] (champion of 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011, and 2015)

* Maldives [158] (champion 2008 and 2018)

* Nepal [168] (third-place winner 1993)

* Sri Lanka [205] (champion of 1995)

** Current FIFA world country rank (total ranked countries 210)

[caption id="attachment_164552" align="alignnone" width="453"] Sri Lanka won the 1995 SAFF Championship[/caption]

SCHEDULE

Friday, 1 October:

* Nepal vs. Maldives at 4.30 p.m.**

* Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh at 9.30 p.m.

Monday, 4 October:

* Bangladesh vs. India at 4.30 p.m.

* Sri Lanka vs. Nepal at 9.30 p.m.

Thursday, 7 October:

* India vs. Sri Lanka at 4.30 p.m.

* Maldives vs. Bangladesh at 9.30 p.m.

Sunday, 10 October:

* Maldives vs. Sri Lanka at 4.30 p.m.

* Nepal vs. India at 9.30 p.m.

Wednesday, 13 October:

* Bangladesh vs. Nepal at 4.30 p.m.

* India vs. Maldives at 9.30 p.m.

Final:

* Saturday, 16 October at 8.30 p.m.

** All times in SL Time

[caption id="attachment_164555" align="alignleft" width="456"] Sri Lanka squad for the forthcoming South Asian Football Championship, scheduled to be held in Maldives from 1 to 16 October[/caption]

The Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) have finalised a 23-man squad for the forthcoming South Asian Football Championship, or SAFF football, scheduled to be held in Maldives from 1 to 16 October.

In preparation for the Championship, a preliminary squad entered the bio-secure bubble on 27 August at the Kelaniya Football Complex.

Few forced changes

The final squad had no special changes except for a few forced changes in Mohamed Hasmeer, due to lack of fitness. Goal-keeper Nuwan Gimhana has been released for his Under-23 commitments while Danushka Rajapaksha has been left out due to injury.

One of the major losses for the Golden Army is Dilip Peiris, who was unfortunately left out due to a hamstring injury.

Maiden call up

There is a maiden call up for the 24-year-old Mohamed Shifan, who was part of the national squad in the junior levels. Edison Figurado also makes a comeback while Aman Faizer comes back after missing out the World Cup qualifiers in South Korea in June.

The Sri Lanka squad left to Saudi Arabia for training two weeks before and from there, they will fly directly to Maldives for the SAFF Championship.

Marvin Hamilton and Dillon De Silva are expected to join the squad from England. Sujan Perera is set to lead the Sri Lankans while Waseem Razeek and Kavindu Ishan share duties as his deputies.

Sri Lanka squad:

Sujan Perera (Captain), Waseem Razeek (Co-Vice Captain), Kavindu Ishan (Co-Vice Captain), Mohamed Fazal, Charitha Rathnayake, Chalana Chameera, Harsha Fernando, Prabath Arunasiri, Duckson Puslas, Roshan Appuhamy, Mohamed Aakib, Jude Suman, Marvin Hamilton, Chamod Dilshan, Mohamed Musthaq, Rifkhan Mohamed, Supun Dananjaya, Asikoor Rahuman, Edison Figurado, Aman Faizer, Mohamed Shifan, Kaveesh Fernando, and Dillon De Silva