Bangladesh women’s national football team will face India and Maldives in Group B of the SAFF Women’s Championship, after the draw took place on Wednesday at the SAFF office in Dhaka, with the tournament scheduled from 25 May to 6 June. Organisers confirmed the group allocations through official channels.
The competition will feature six teams split into two groups of three. Group A includes Nepal women’s national football team, Bhutan women’s national football team and Sri Lanka women’s national football team. Each team will play within its group to determine progression.
Bangladesh enter the tournament as back-to-back champions. They won the 2022 and 2024 editions by beating Nepal in both finals. Key players such as Maria Manda and Rituparna Chakma contributed in those campaigns.
India dominated the early history of the competition and won the first five editions. Their presence in the same group creates a direct contest between past and current title holders. Group matches will determine which teams advance to the knockout stage.
Bangladesh remain ranked 112th in the latest FIFA women’s rankings, although their rating has dropped to 1165.57. The team lost all three matches in the recent AFC Women’s Asian Cup group stage against China, North Korea and Uzbekistan without scoring and conceded 11 goals.
Group A:
- Nepal
- Bhutan
- Sri Lanka
Group B:
- Bangladesh
- India
- Maldives
