Earlier, Arunachal Pradesh was awarded the hosting rights for the SAFF U-19 Championship, marking the state\u2019s first-ever international football tournament, which will take place at the Golden Jubilee Stadium in Yupia from May 9 to 18. The venue had also hosted the Santosh Trophy Final Round in March last year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Maldives, Bhutan and Bangladesh were drawn in Group A. For the draw, the teams were seeded in three pots based on the latest FIFA Men's Rankings as of December 2024.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals that will be played on May 16. The final will take place on May 18.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India are the defending champions, having beaten Pakistan 3-0 in the final of the 2023 edition held in Kathmandu. In 2024, the tournament was held for the U20s, where India lost to Bangladesh on penalties in the semi-finals.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
This will be the fourth time India will host an age-group SAFF competition after U20 men's (Bhubaneswar 2022), U18 women's (Jamshedpur 2022) and U15 men's (Kalyani 2019).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The 2025 SAFF U-19 Championship will mark the seventh edition of the regional youth football tournament, organised by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), featuring men's under-19 national teams from South Asia.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
SAFF U19 Championship 2025 Draw<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Group A: Maldives, Bhutan, Bangladesh<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Group B: India (hosts), Nepal, Sri Lanka<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India's fixtures:<\/p>\r\n\r\n
May 9: Sri Lanka vs India<\/p>\r\n\r\n
May 13: India vs Nepal<\/p>\r\n\r\n
May 16: Semi-finals<\/p>\r\n\r\n
May 13: India vs Nepal<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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