KSA, Malaysia refuse to play in SAFF Championship

Sports Reporter :
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Malaysia refused to play in the upcoming South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship, which is scheduled to be held at Bengaluru in India from June 21 to July 3. The six teams from South Asian Region will take part in the forthcoming SAFF Championship, the most prestigious football meet of this region. The six teams are: Hosts India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan. Apart from six teams, South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) invited KSA and Malaysia. But the two teams refused to take part in the SAFF Championship. SAFF is interested to stage a eight-team SAFF Championship. So, SAFF invited Jordan, Singapore, Bahrain, Indonesia and Kuwait.

The congress of SAFF is scheduled to be held in Dhaka on May 6. In that congress, the participating teams of the forthcoming SAFF Championship will be finalised.
General Secretary of SAFF Anwarul Haq Helal said to a local website, ” We did not get KSA or Malaysia as they were invited to play out of ‘FIFA Window’. All the teams have domestic leagues. We are trying for other teams. In the SAFF congress, the participating teams of SAFF Championship will be finalsied.”