South Asian Football Federation

What South Asian Football Federation does

The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) is a private, non-profit regional sports federation founded in 1997 and headquartered at House-56, Floor-8, Road-11, Block-F, Banani, Dhaka-1213, Bangladesh. It is the officially recognized governing body for football across South Asia under the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA, with seven member national associations: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. SAFF's mandate is to organize regional competitions, support football development, and provide pathways for South Asian players, officials, and member federations into continental and world-level football.

SAFF's product portfolio is a tournament calendar across senior, youth, and emerging formats. Core competitions include the SAFF Men's Championship, SAFF Women's Championship (India holds a record six titles), and age-group championships spanning U-15 through U-20. In the 2025–2026 cycle SAFF materially expanded the portfolio with three inaugural products: the SAFF Women's Club Championship 2025 in Kathmandu (the first women's club-level regional competition in any AFC Regional Association), the SAFF Futsal Championship 2026 in Bangkok, and the SAFF Women's Futsal Championship 2026 in Bangkok. Beyond competitions, SAFF runs an educational layer (AFC Match Commissioners Conference, Digital Media & LMO Seminars) and social programs (Safeguarding, Social Responsibility). Distribution is concentrated in the official website (saffederation.org), Facebook, Instagram, and email, with a new brand identity unveiled in November 2025.

SAFF is not a commercial entity: its website explicitly states it "does not constitute a commercial platform." Revenue is not publicly disclosed and operates through membership dues and sponsorship income, anchored by a newly signed three-year match ball partnership with Vector X (2026–2028) and media and marketing rights reportedly managed by SportFive. Leadership consists of President Kazi Md. Salahuddin (Bangladesh), General Secretary Purushottam Kattel (appointed April 2025, formerly of AFC for 17 years), Vice President Sundar Narsingh Joshi, and Marketing & Communications Committee chair Shaji Prabhakaran. The federation operates under a member-association ownership model with no external commercial investors or private equity involvement indicated in the source material.

Name

South Asian Football Federation

Legal name

South Asian Football Federation

Website

https://saffederation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

SAFF is the non-profit regional governing body for football in South Asia, founded in 1997 under AFC and FIFA, serving seven member national associations (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) and organizing men's, women's, youth, futsal, and club championships from its Dhaka headquarters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Sports Federation / Football Governance

NAICS

Spectator Sports (71121), Spectator Sports (7112)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional/Continental Confederations & Associations (MPAKAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Amateur Sport Governing Bodies & Federations (National/Regional) (MPAKACAD)

Keywords

• Regional football federation
• Football tournament organization
• Youth football championships
• Women's football development
• Futsal championship management

Headquarters

HQ city

Dhaka

HQ country

Bangladesh

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) is the official regional governing body for football in South Asia, operating under the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and FIFA. It organizes men's, women's, youth, and futsal championships for its seven member national associations, and runs development programs including capacity-building workshops, safeguarding initiatives, and social responsibility seminars. SAFF functions as a non-profit federation providing competitive platforms and governance for football across the region.

Product overview

SAFF operates as a platform-plus-portfolio organization managing multiple football competitions and development programs across South Asia. The core portfolio includes the SAFF Championship (men's and women's) and age-group tournaments (U-20, U-19, U-18, U-17, U-16, U-15), alongside newly launched futsal championships (men's and women's) and the inaugural Women's Club Championship. The federation complements its competitive offerings with educational programs for match commissioners and media officers, safeguarding initiatives, and social responsibility initiatives—all unified under the motto 'Strength in Unity' to develop football across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SAFF Championship (Men's) The premier men's senior football tournament of South Asia, featuring national teams from all seven member associations (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) competing for the regional championship title.
• SAFF Women's Championship

Quantifiable outcome

• India secured record-extending sixth SAFF Women's Championship title in 2026
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Vector XcoreOthers · 4 February 2026Vector X named official match ball sponsor for all SAFF competitions from 2026 to 2028. The partnership represents a significant step toward elevating the quality, professionalism, and global visibility of South Asian football tournaments. Agreement covers all major SAFF tournaments over three years.
• Football Association of ThailandminorOthers · 1 January 2026Football Association of Thailand provided assistance in hosting the SAFF Futsal Championships in Bangkok, Thailand in January 2026. Thailand was chosen for its advanced futsal infrastructure and high accessibility.
• SportFivecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSportFive serves as SAFF's strategic partner for managing media and marketing rights for competitions. The Marketing and Communications Committee meeting focused on federation's visual identity and future marketing strategy.
• Asian Football Confederation (AFC)coreOthersAFC is SAFF's parent confederation. AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa emphasized unity among Member Associations. SAFF aligns its statutes with AFC guidelines and receives support for football development.
• FIFAcoreOthersFIFA is the world governing body for football of which all SAFF member national associations are members. FIFA support is mentioned for football development in the region.
• Bangladesh Football FederationcoreOthersOne of seven member associations of SAFF, representing Bangladesh in all SAFF competitions.
• All India Football FederationcoreOthersOne of seven member associations of SAFF, representing India in all SAFF competitions. India is a dominant force in SAFF tournaments.
• Football Association of MaldivescoreOthersOne of seven member associations of SAFF, representing Maldives in all SAFF competitions.
• All Nepal Football AssociationcoreOthersOne of seven member associations of SAFF, representing Nepal in all SAFF competitions.
• Pakistan Football FederationcoreOthersOne of seven member associations of SAFF, representing Pakistan in all SAFF competitions.
• Bhutan Football FederationcoreOthersOne of seven member associations of SAFF, representing Bhutan in all SAFF competitions. Bhutan joined SAFF in 2000.
• Football Federation of Sri LankacoreOthersOne of seven member associations of SAFF, representing Sri Lanka in all SAFF competitions. Designer Supun D. Rajapaksa from Sri Lanka created SAFF's new logo.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Asian Football Confederation (AFC): Parent continental confederation governing football across Asia, of which SAFF is a member. Comparable as the umbrella organization that grants SAFF its mandate, organizes pan-Asian competitions, and negotiates overarching media and commercial rights that cascade to SAFF.
• FIFA: Global governing body for football, under which SAFF's member associations are affiliated. Comparable only at the level of governing-body function; FIFA is the apex regulator and commercial rights owner whose policies, development funding, and tournament calendar directly shape SAFF's operating environment.

Others

• All India Football Federation (AIFF): National football federation of India and SAFF's largest, most commercially relevant member association. Comparable as a domestic football governing body operating leagues, cups, and national teams, and a key counterparty whose commercial strength shapes SAFF's overall value.
• Sportfive: Global sports rights and marketing agency already engaged by SAFF as strategic media and marketing partner. Relevant as an ecosystem participant that determines how SAFF's rights are packaged and monetized versus other regional football properties.

Direct peers

• ASEAN Football Federation (AFF): Regional football confederation for Southeast Asia operating under AFC. Closely comparable to SAFF in structure, scope (multi-country regional body), tournament portfolio (senior, youth, futsal, women's), and non-commercial governance model.
• East Asian Football Federation (EAFF): Regional football confederation for East Asia under AFC. Comparable as a sister AFC regional association running senior, youth, and women's championships across a multi-country footprint with similar governance under FIFA statutes.
• West Asian Football Federation (WAFF): Regional football confederation for West Asia under AFC. Directly comparable regional association running senior and age-group championships, sharing governance structure, rights packaging challenges, and parent-confederation alignment with SAFF.
• Oceania Football Confederation (OFC): One of FIFA's six continental confederations covering Oceania. Comparable as a confederation-level football governing body organizing regional championships and feeding into FIFA competitions, though operating across a smaller, geographically dispersed member base.
• Central Asian Football Association (CAFA): Central Asian regional football body under AFC. Comparable small multi-country regional federation with emerging football ecosystems and a similar championship-format offering, often referenced as a benchmark for newer regional properties.

Regional players

• Council for East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA): Sub-regional football body for East and Central Africa under CAF. Comparable as a multi-country regional federation running senior and age-group tournaments, but operating in a different geography and with a less developed commercial footprint than SAFF's AFC-aligned peer set.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/saffederation
• Instagraminstagram.com/saff_football
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/south-asian-football-federation-saff

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about South Asian Football Federation