Sleightholme has six tries in eight England appearances

By Susil Premalal

Football authorities in several countries, including Sri Lanka, are set to propose that the upcoming South Asian Football Federation Cup (SAFF) 15th Edition should be held in only one country under the same two-group format as before.

Accordingly, the SAFF Cup 2025 Football Tournament final decision is scheduled to be held at the SAFF Executive Committee Meeting on March 12 in Kathmandu, Nepal, where football authorities from many countries, including Sri Lanka, are expected to present this proposal, Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) President Jaswar Umar told the Daily Mirror yesterday.

It is reported that the country that will receive the new hosting rights for the SAFF Football Cup Tournament under the old system will be announced based on the current situation.

Earlier, it was decided at the SAFF Executive Committee Meeting to conduct the SAFF 15th Edition 2025 under a regional all-countries home-and-away format.

It was also agreed to conduct the tournament for more than a month (40 days) from June 15 to July 25.

SAFF-affiliated football officials point out that the previous system is more suitable, as it appears that each participating country will have to retain players for a long time and spend a lot of money on airfare to each country.

The SAFF Cup was centred around one country from its inception in 1993 until 2022, and under the new format, each country in the region will have hosting rights for several matches in the tournament.