SAFF Championship postponed to 2026

The SAFF Championship, earlier scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka this July, has been postponed to 2026. Instead, and invitational tournament is being planned to be held in Sri Lanka in July. '

South Asian Football Federation (SAFF)'s Executive Committee member Ali Umar said that the postponement has been decided on as the federation's Marketing Partner wants to hold the championship on a home and away model, which is not possible this year.

SAFF initially attempted to hold the championship this year on a home and away model. However, if held in that way, the championship will run on for over two months, leading to higher expenses. Due to this, they then decided to hold it in a centralized model, with Sri Lanka as hosts.

According to Bangladesh's Daily Observer, the Marketing Partner, Germany's sports marketing agency 'SportsFive' wants the championship to be held in Bangladesh or India if it is to be held in a centralized model. It is believed that this was opted for based on ease in finding sponsors.

SAFF's Marketing Partner has always held influence over deciding on a host country. As such, SAFF is now obliged to postpone the tournament, as they do not possess the financial means to hold the championship independently.

Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and SAFF, along with Sri Lanka Football Federation, are now working towards holding an invitational tournament. Details of this have not been received as of yet.