New Delhi, October 03: India have been clubbed with defending champions Maldives in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championships to be held in Dhaka from Dec 4.
India, Maldives, Nepal and Afghanistan are in Group A while hosts Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan are in Group B. The two top teams from each group will qualify for the semis and the final will be played Dec 14.
All matches will be played at the Bangabandhu Stadium and the winner will take home prize money of $50,000.
This is the second time the torunament in being hosted by Bangladesh. In 2003, Bangladesh had beaten Maldives via penalties to lift the trophy for the first time in front of their home crowd. India have won the championship four times, the last being in 2001 in Pakistan.
—–IANS