Under 17 SAFF Championship: Group B has Maldives, India, Pakistan, Bhutan

A draw has been taken amongst the seven nations participating in the Under 17 SAFF Championship, scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in September.

The championship is set to be held from September 15 to 27 at the Race Course Stadium in Sri Lanka.

Maldives has gone to Group B, alongside India, Pakistan and Bhutan.

Bangladesh, Nepal and host Sri Lanka are in Group A.

The championship is held in three categories: Under 15, Under 16 and Under 17. This is the tenth such tournament being held by SAFF. Each year, SAFF decides which age group the year's championship will be for based on AFC Qualifying Schedule. This is the third time that an Under 17 championship is being held.

India emerged as champions the first two times. Last year, Maldives was in the same group as India and Bangladesh and earned a tie with Bangladesh.

India has won the championship twice in each category. Bangladesh also became Under 15 and Under 16 champions once. In the first Under 16 Championship held in 2011, Pakistan were the victors.

In 2023, Maldives made it to the semifinals in the Under 16 Championship held in Bhutan.

Recently, Maldives' Under 18 team played against Australia's International Soccer Academy (ISA) at the Galolhu National Stadium and won by 6-nil.