The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) has announced the schedule for the Under-17 SAFF Championship, which will take place in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from September 15 to 27 this year.The 10th edition of the tournament will have seven countries divided into two groups, with India and Pakistan drawn in the same group.SAFF U-17 Championship Groups:Group A: Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri LankaGroup B: India, Pakistan, Maldives, BhutanTeams in each group will play each other once in a round-robin format, while the top two from each group will qualify for the semifinals.Games after the group stage will all be single-leg eliminators, played with provisions of extra-time and a penalty shootout in the event of a draw after regulation time.Host Sri Lanka will play the first match against Nepal, and all games of the tournament will be played at the Racecourse International Stadium.SAFF U-17 Championship Schedule: Group Stage: September 15 – 7:00 pm – Nepal vs Sri Lanka – Group A September 16 – 3:00 pm – India vs Maldives – Group B September 16 – 7:00 pm – Pakistan vs Bhutan – Group B September 18 – 7:00 pm – Bangladesh vs Nepal – Group A September 19 – 3:00 pm – Pakistan vs Maldives – Group B September 19 – 7:30 pm – Bhutan vs India – Group B September 21 – 7:00 pm – Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka – Group A September 22 – 3:00 pm – India vs Pakistan – Group B September 22 – 7:30 pm – Bhutan vs Maldives – Group B Knockouts: Semifinal 1– September 25 – 3:00 pm – Winner of Group A vs Runner-up of Group B Semifinal 2– September 25 – 7:30 pm – Winner of Group B vs Runner-up of Group A Final – September 27 – 6:00 pm — Winner of Semifinal 1 vs Winner of Semifinal 2Defending champion India will open its campaign against the Maldives. The Blue Colts beat Bangladesh in the previous edition in Bhutan, with Mohammed Kaif and Mohammed Arbash scoring in a 2-0 win in September last year.India is also the most successful team in the tournament, winning the title six times.
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