“The Blue Tigresses have made every Indian proud. Their victory is an inspiration for young girls across the country to pursue sports.” — PM Narendra Modi, June 2026
The Indian Women’s Football Team clinched the SAFF Women’s Championship 2026 on 6 June 2026, defeating defending champions Bangladesh 3–1 in the final at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Fatorda Stadium), Margao, Goa. The victory gave India a record sixth title in the tournament’s history and ended a seven-year drought — Bangladesh had won the last two consecutive editions (2022 and 2024). Coached by Crispin Chettri and nicknamed the Blue Tigresses, India scored 18 goals and conceded just 1 across the entire tournament — one of the most dominant campaigns in the championship’s history.
📜 About the SAFF Women’s Championship
The SAFF Women’s Championship is the premier international women’s football tournament for national teams across South Asia. It is governed by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), established in 1997 and headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. SAFF is a regional sub-confederation of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which is one of the six continental confederations under FIFA.
SAFF has seven member associations: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka (Bhutan joined in 2000). The women’s championship was launched in 2010 and is held approximately every two years. Only two nations have won the title across all eight editions: India (6 times) and Bangladesh (2 times). Nepal has been runner-up six times without ever winning — the most runner-up finishes by any team in the tournament’s history.
Think of SAFF Women’s Championship as the “South Asian version of the Women’s Euro” — a regional tournament contested by the 7 South Asian countries every two years. India is the Brazil of this tournament — dominant from the start (5 consecutive titles) but briefly dethroned (2022 and 2024 by Bangladesh) before reclaiming the crown in 2026 at home.
📌 Tournament History & Road to 2026
India dominated the tournament from its inception, winning the first five consecutive editions (2010–2019). The 2022 edition — held in Nepal — marked a watershed: Bangladesh beat India 3–0 in the group stage and went on to win the title, defeating Nepal 3–1 in the final. They retained it in 2024 (also in Nepal), defeating Nepal 2–1. India was eliminated in the semi-finals in both 2022 and 2024 — the only two editions they had ever failed to win.
| Edition | Year | Host | Winner | Runner-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2010 | Bangladesh | India | Nepal |
| 2nd | 2012 | — | India | Nepal |
| 3rd | 2014 | — | India | Nepal |
| 4th | 2016 | India (Siliguri) | India | Nepal |
| 5th | 2019 | Nepal (Biratnagar) | India | Nepal |
| 6th | 2022 | Nepal | Bangladesh | Nepal |
| 7th | 2024 | Nepal | Bangladesh | Nepal |
| 8th | 2026 | India (Goa) | India | Bangladesh |
Nepal’s Painful Record: Nepal has been runner-up SIX times across 8 editions — the most runner-up appearances by any team — without ever winning the title. In 2026, they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Bangladesh.
✨ India’s 2026 Campaign: Match by Match
The tournament featured 6 teams in two groups. India was placed in Group B alongside Bangladesh and Maldives. Group A contained Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan.
- Match 1 (25 May) — India 11–0 Maldives: Dominant opening. Aveka Singh scored 4 goals; Priyangka Devi Naorem, Grace Dangmei, and Karishma Shirvoikar also among scorers. India’s biggest-ever win in the tournament.
- Match 2 (30 May) — India 3–0 Bangladesh (Group Stage): India’s first win over Bangladesh since 2019. Goals by Pyari Xaxa (36′), Lynda Kom (78′ pen), and Malavika P (90+1′). India topped Group B with a perfect record, conceding zero goals.
- Semi-Final (3 June) — India 1–0 Bhutan: Sanfida Nongrum (58′) scored the only goal. India’s first final appearance in six years.
- Final (6 June) — India 3–1 Bangladesh: India wins the championship.
Pakistan did not participate in the 2026 edition due to strained bilateral relations with India. This is a recurring pattern in South Asian sports — political tensions between neighbouring nations frequently spill into sporting contexts, reducing the representativeness of regional tournaments. Should international sports bodies like SAFF have mechanisms to insulate tournaments from bilateral diplomatic disputes?
🌍 The Final: India 3–1 Bangladesh (6 June 2026)
FIFA Rankings: India (World No. 69) vs Bangladesh (World No. 112).
India’s head coach Crispin Chettri fielded an attacking line-up with Manisha Kalyan leading the charge and Pyari Xaxa in the no. 10 role.
- 42′ — Pyari Xaxa (India 1–0): Composed finish despite a deflection — India took the lead just before half-time.
- 45+1′ — Ritu Porna Chakma (India 1–1): Bangladesh equalised in first-half stoppage time — the only goal India conceded in the entire tournament.
- 46′ — Sanfida Nongrum (India 2–1): Just 40 seconds after the restart, Nongrum headed home to restore the lead — a decisive, momentum-changing intervention.
- 82′ — Lynda Kom Serto (India 3–1): Substitute Lynda Kom pounced on a Bangladesh defensive error to seal the title.
Final score: India 3–1 Bangladesh.
🏆 Tournament Awards & Statistics
All four individual awards went to Indian players or India’s opponents:
| Award | Winner | Country | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player (MVP) | Sanfida Nongrum | India | Decisive goals in semi-final & final; PoM both games |
| Top Scorer | Aveka Singh | India | 4 goals (all vs Maldives); plays for Næstved HG, Denmark |
| Best Goalkeeper | Panthoi Chanu Elangbam | India | Clean sheet in all matches except final’s first half |
| Fair Play Award | — | Nepal | Highest disciplinary record across the tournament |
Tournament Statistics: 6 teams · 9 matches · 35 total goals · 3.89 goals per match average. India scored 18 goals and conceded just 1 across 4 matches.
Don’t mix up the awards: MVP = Sanfida Nongrum (goals in semi-final + final). Top Scorer = Aveka Singh (4 goals — but all vs Maldives in group stage, not the final). Best Goalkeeper = Panthoi Chanu Elangbam. Fair Play = Nepal (not India). Also: this is India’s 6th title, 8th edition of the championship — these two numbers are commonly confused.
👤 Key Players, Coach & India’s Football Legacy
Head Coach: Crispin Chettri — born 20 January 1975 in Kurseong, West Bengal. Former professional footballer from Northeast India; previously led Odisha FC Women to the Indian Women’s League (IWL) title in 2023–24.
Captain: Sweety Devi Ngangbam. The squad drew heavily from Northeast India — Sanfida Nongrum (Manipur), Lynda Kom Serto (Manipur), and Panthoi Chanu Elangbam (Manipur) reflect the region’s disproportionately high contribution to Indian women’s football.
Players with professional contracts abroad:
- Manisha Kalyan — plays for Alianza Lima, Peru
- Aveka Singh — plays for Næstved HG, Denmark
India’s all-time records:
- Top scorer of all time: Bala Devi Ngangom — 48 goals
- Most caps: Ashalata Devi Loitongbam — 100 appearances
- Highest FIFA ranking: No. 49 (December 2013)
- Current FIFA ranking: No. 69 (April 2026)
Northeast India contributes a disproportionately high number of players to the national women’s football team — Manipur in particular has become a nursery for elite women footballers. This raises important questions about regional talent development, sports infrastructure investment, and how central sporting bodies like AIFF can replicate the “Northeast model” in other states. What structural factors explain Manipur’s dominance in Indian women’s football?
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India won their record 6th SAFF Women’s Championship title on 6 June 2026, defeating Bangladesh 3–1 in the final at Fatorda Stadium, Margao, Goa. This was the 8th edition of the tournament.
Sanfida Nongrum was named Most Valuable Player (MVP). She scored in both the semi-final against Bhutan and the crucial 46th-minute goal in the final. Aveka Singh was the Top Scorer (4 goals, all vs Maldives).
India first won the SAFF Women’s Championship in 2010 (the inaugural edition) and won the next four consecutive editions — 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2019 — before Bangladesh won in 2022 and 2024.
SAFF was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is a sub-confederation of the AFC (Asian Football Confederation), which is one of six continental confederations under FIFA.
Nepal has been runner-up six times in the SAFF Women’s Championship across eight editions without ever winning the title — the most runner-up finishes by any team in the tournament’s history.
