Indian Squads For SAFF Men's And Women's Futsal Championships Announced

Indian squads for SAFF men's and women's Futsal Championships announced (Image Source: IANS)

AFC Futsal Asian Cup Qualifiers: India's squads for the SAFF Futsal Championship 2026 and the SAFF Women's Futsal Championship 2026 have been announced. Both tournaments will take place in parallel in Nonthaburi, Thailand, later this month.

The Futsal Tigers and the Futsal Tigresses, each with 14 players, arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday.

The men's team, led by Iranian Reza Kordi, and the women's team, led by Indian Joshuah Vaz, held a month-long training camp together in Bengaluru before travelling to Thailand for the first-ever SAFF futsal tournaments.

The SAFF Futsal Championship will be held from January 14 to 26, while the SAFF Women's Futsal Championship will take place from January 13 to 25. Both competitions will be held in a single round-robin format, and the team with the most points will be crowned champions. All seven SAFF member associations will participate in both events.

In the women's tournament, India will face Maldives (January 13), Bangladesh (January 15), Nepal (January 17), Pakistan (January 19), Bhutan (January 23) and Sri Lanka (January 25). In the men's event, India will face Bangladesh (January 14), Nepal (January 18), Maldives (January 20), Bhutan (January 22), Sri Lanka (January 24) and Pakistan (January 26).

Eight of the 14 players in the men's team (Mollah, Silva, Lalsangkima, Adhikari, Roluahpuia, Mali, D'souza and Lalrawngbawla) were part of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Qualifiers last year, where India beat Mongolia 3-0 for their first-ever international futsal win. In the women's squad, seven players participated in the AFC Women's Futsal Asian Cup 2025 Qualifiers (Tanvi, Achom, Arya, Radhika, Pooja, Ritika and Khushbu).

India's squad for the SAFF Futsal Championship 2026:

Goalkeepers: Aleef Rahman Mollah, Ozen Vivian Silva.

Fixo: Lalsangkima, Lalsawmpuia.

Ala: Anmol Adhikari, K Roluahpuia, Lalrinzuala H, Nikhil Mali, Seaon D'souza, Vincent Laltluangzela.

Pivot: Hafis AM, Jonathan Lalrawngbawla, Palash Barber, Tijo Job.

Head coach: Reza Kordi

India's squad for the SAFF Women's Futsal Championship 2026:

Goalkeepers: Aiswarya Arumugam, Tanvi Mavani.

Fixo: Achom Degio, Arya More, Jigmet Chunzen, Radhika Patel.

Ala: Aarushi Santhosh, Diti Kanungo, Nishka Parkash, Pooja Gupta, Ritika Singh, Sonali Mondal.

Pivot: Khushbu Saroj, Mithila Ramani.

Head coach: Joshuah Vaz

Indian men's team's fixtures in the SAFF Futsal Championship 2026:

15:30 IST, January 14: India vs Bangladesh

12:30 IST, January 18: India vs Nepal

15:30 IST, January 20: Maldives vs India

18:30 IST, January 22: Bhutan vs India

18:30 IST, January 24: Sri Lanka vs India

18:30 IST, January 26: India vs Pakistan

Indian men's team's fixtures in the SAFF Futsal Championship 2026:

12:30 IST, January 13: Maldives vs India

12:30 IST, January 15: Bangladesh vs India

15:30 IST, January 17: India vs Nepal

18:30 IST, January 19: India vs Pakistan

18:30 IST, January 23: Bhutan vs India

18:30 IST, January 19: India vs Pakistan

Venue: Nonthaburi Stadium, Nonthaburi, Thailand.

Article Source: IANS