2008 SAFF Championship
The seventh South Asian Football Championship, officially South Asian Football Federation Cup 2008, held from 3 to 14 June 2008 at the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Eight teams from the South Asian region played for the title of South Asia Master.
The Maldives was the first time hosted the hosted by the South Asian Football Federation tournament, while Sri Lanka for the second time hosted the tournament. The island nation had already held the second edition in 1995, then won the national of the host after a 1-0 victory over India the title. Originally this championship to be held in December 2007, in October 2007 it was decided, however, for the displacement of the tournament, because the Indian Football Association could send due to the simultaneous launch of the new Indian football league to this point, no team.
The Maldives won the tournament after a 1-0 over the defending champion from India. Mukthar Naseer scored the winning goal in the 87th minutes and secured the Maldives her first victory in an international football competition. Scorer was Harez Habib, the Afghans reach four goals in the finals. Ali Ashfaag from the Maldives was voted the best player.
As a premium, the Maldives Victory of U.S. $ 50,000, second place, Indians received $ 25,000, while the two semi-finalists Sri Lanka and Bhutan each received 10,000.
Groups
The eight participating teams were divided into two groups of four teams. In the group stage the teams in the league system each played once against each other. The group winners and the runner-up reached the semi-finals, the winners of the semi-finals wore the finale. A game for third place did not take place.
The draw for the groups took place at the Paradise Iceland resort of the Maldives capital Male on 28 February 2008. It disclosed the following groups:
Venues
The games will be held in the respective capitals, ie in Malé and Colombo. The opening ceremony will be held in the Maldivian capital, while the final in Sri Lanka will be played.
- Male: In the capital of the Maldives, the matches in Group A, and one semi-final will be played on the Rasmee - Dhandu Stadium. This venue has a capacity of 11,850 seats.
- Colombo: Preliminary round matches of Group B and one semi-final and the final will be played in Sugathadasa Stadium. The National Stadium Sri Lanka offers to 25,000 people,.
The semi-final places were set so that the Maldives and Sri Lanka each have a home game when they are group winners.
Fixtures and Results
Group A
Group B
Semifinal
Final
Pakistan 1993 | Sri Lanka 1995 | Nepal 1997 | India 1999 | Bangladesh 2003 | Pakistan 2005 | Maldives and Sri Lanka 2008 | Bangladesh 2009 | India 2011 | Nepal 2013
- Football South Asian Federation Cup
- Football in 2008