India Wins SAFF Women’s Championship 2026

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The Prime Minister of India congratulated the Indian Women’s Football Team for winning the SAFF Women’s Championship 2026.

The SAFF Women’s Championship, also known as the South Asian Football Federation Women’s Cup, is the main international football tournament for women in South Asia.
It acts as the primary regional platform to find out the top women football team in the subcontinent.

The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) runs this tournament, and it takes place roughly every two years.
The eligible member countries include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
India is the most successful team in the history of the tournament, winning the first five editions back-to-back from 2010 to 2019.
Nepal has finished as the runner-up six times.
Before the 2026 edition, Bangladesh won the trophy in 2022 and 2024, ending India's winning streak.

The 8th edition of the championship took place at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Fatorda Stadium) in Margao, Goa, with India as the host.
Entering the final match, India was ranked world number 69, while Bangladesh was ranked world number 112.
Indian players Pyari Xaxa at 42', Sanfida Nongrum at 46', and Lynda Kom at 82' scored goals.
These goals canceled out the equalizer scored by Bangladesh player Ritu Porna Chakma, leading to a clear 3 to 1 victory for India.
India won the championship as Champions, marking their 6th regional title and their first win since 2019.
Sanfida Nongrum from India won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award after scoring the crucial second goal in the final and the winning goal against Bhutan in the semi-finals.
Aveka Singh from India won the Top Scorer award by scoring 4 goals in the tournament.
Panthoi Chanu Elangbam from India won the Best Goalkeeper award for leading a defense that gave up only one goal during the entire event.
The Fair Play Award went to Nepal for maintaining the best disciplinary record on the field.

The 8th edition featured 6 regional teams playing a total of 9 matches.
The tournament saw a high number of attacks, producing 35 goals in total with an average of 3.89 goals per match.
The Indian team, known as the Blue Tigresses, showed strong defense by giving up their first and only goal of the tournament during the first-half stoppage time of the final.
The Indian frontline played aggressively, scoring 18 goals across their 4 matches.