Bangladesh has been confirmed as the host of the 15th SAFF Championship, with the region's premier men's football tournament set to take place in Dhaka from November 4 to 17.
The decision was finalized at the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) meeting on Tuesday, marking Bangladesh's first time hosting the competition since 2018.
The tournament, originally scheduled for 2025, was delayed by a year due to organizational complications before SAFF finally confirmed this year's dates.
All matches will be played in Dhaka, while the tournament's official logo will be unveiled in the Bangladesh capital on July 25. The official draw is set to take place in Thimphu, Bhutan, on August 1.
The championship is expected to provide home fans with the first opportunity to watch Bangladesh's overseas-based stars Hamza Choudhury, Shamit Shome and Fahamidul Islam compete in the SAFF Championship on home soil.
Bangladesh previously hosted the regional tournament in 2003, 2009 and 2018. The home side won its only SAFF Championship title in the 2003 edition, when the red and green flag was raised for the first and only time.
The most recent edition was held in Bengaluru, India, in 2023, where Bangladesh reached the semi-finals before bowing out.
India are the competition's most successful nation with a record nine titles. Maldives are the only other multiple-time champions, having lifted the trophy in 2008 and 2018.
Afghanistan, champions in 2013, and Sri Lanka, winners in 1995, are the other two nations to have won the SAFF Championship.
