| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Nepal | 
| Dates | 25 October – 3 November | 
| Teams | 6 (from 1 confederation) | 
| Venue(s) | 1 (in Lalitpur host cities) | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Third place | |
| Fourth place | |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 10 | 
| Goals scored | 47 (4.7 per match) | 
| Attendance | 15,144 (1,514 per match) | 
| Top scorer(s) | |
| Best player(s) | |
| Fair play award | |
The 2018 SAFF U-15 Championship was the fifth edition of the SAFF U-15 Championship, an international football competition for men's under-15 national teams organized by SAFF. The tournament was hosted by Nepal from October 25 to November 3, 2018, at ANFA Complex in Lalitpur, Nepal. Six out of seven teams from the region took part, as Sri Lanka later withdrew their team, and the teams were divided into two groups.[1][2] On 3 November 2018, Bangladesh beat Pakistan to claim their second SAFF title.[3]
Host selection
A draw for tournament ceremony was held on 13 September 2018 at conference room of Bangladesh Football Federation.
BFF general secretary Abu Naeem Shohag, chairman of the BFF Media Committee Amirul Islam Babu and Mindu Dorji, the deputy general secretary of Bhutan Football Federation was also present on the occasion.
Initially all of seven countries team participated for the draw, two groups A and B were made, A consisted of Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives and Pakistan and group B consisted of India, Bhutan and Sri Lanka
But later Sri Lanka had its team withdrawn from the tournament and the groups are redefined.[2]
| Group A | Group B | 
|---|---|
- † Sri Lanka withdrew before tournament
 - ‡ Pakistan drawn to Group B, thus both the groups redefined
 
Squads
Players born on or after 1 January 2003 were eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team had to register a squad of minimum 18 players and maximum 23 players, minimum three of whom had to be goalkeepers.
Participating teams
| Team | Appearances  in the SAFF U-16 Championship  | 
Previous best performance | 
|---|---|---|
| 5th | Champions (2015), (2018) | |
| 3rd | Fourth Place | |
| 5th | Champions (2013, 2017) | |
| 4th | Group Stage | |
| 5th | Runners-up (2013, 2017) | |
| 3rd | Champions (2011) | 
Venues
| Lalitpur | 
|---|
| ANFA Complex | 
| Capacity: 4,000 | 
Match officials
Group stage
- All matches were played at Lalitpur, Nepal.
 - Times listed are UTC+05:45.
 
| Key to colours in group tables | |
|---|---|
| Group winners and runners-up advance to the semi-finals | |
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Status | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | +10 | 6 | Qualified for Knockout stage | |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 3 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 13 | −13 | 0 | 
| Bangladesh  | 9–0 | |
|---|---|---|
| Nihat Jaman Ucchash  Mehedi Hassan Rasel Ahmed Ashikur Rahman  | 
SAFF | 
| Bangladesh  | 2–1 | |
|---|---|---|
  | 
SAFF | 
  | 
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Status | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 6 | Qualified for Knockout stage | |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 3 | ||
| 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | −8 | 0 | 
| India  | 1–2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Vanlalruatfela Thlacheu  | 
SAFF AIFF | Adnan Justin  Wasif  | 
| Bhutan  | 0–4 | |
|---|---|---|
| SAFF | Mudassar Nazar  Iftikar Ahmed Moin Ahmed  | 
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 1 November – ANFA Complex | ||||||
| 1 (4) | ||||||
| 3 November – ANFA Complex | ||||||
| 1 (2) | ||||||
| 1 (3) | ||||||
| 1 November – ANFA Complex | ||||||
| 1 (2) | ||||||
| 4 | ||||||
| 0 | ||||||
| Third Place | ||||||
| 3 November – ANFA Complex | ||||||
| 1 | ||||||
| 0 | ||||||
Knockout stage
- All matches will be played at Lalitpur, Nepal.
 - Times listed are UTC+05:45
 
Semi-finals
| Bangladesh  | 1–1 | |
|---|---|---|
  | 
SAFF AIFF | 
  | 
| Penalties | ||
  | 
4–2 | 
  | 
Third place
Final
| 1–1 | ||
|---|---|---|
  | 
Report | 
  | 
| Penalties | ||
  | 
3–2 | 
  | 
Winner
| 2018 SAFF U-15 Championship champions | 
|---|
Bangladesh Second title  | 
Awards
The following awards were given for the 2018 SAFF U-15 Championship.
| Fair Play Award | Most Valuable Player | Golden Boot Award | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Goalscorers
There were 47 goals scored in 10 matches, for an average of 4.7 goals per match.
4 goals
3 goals
 Md Ashikur Rahman
 Moin Ahmed
 Mohib Ullah
2 goals
 Rasel Ahmed
 Shubho Paul
 Thlacheu Vanlalruatfela
 Jaan Limbu
 Mudassar Nazar
1 goal
 Ibne Ahad Sakil
 Rajon Howladar
 Nafiz Basher
 Harsh Shailesh Patre
 Subba Kushang
 Aman Xalxo
 Namas Thapa Magar
 Sasank Bohora
 Dipesh Rai
 Adnan Justin
 Iftikar Ahmed
 Wasif
References
- ↑ "SAFF U15 draw held". South Asian Football Federation.
 - 1 2 "SAFF Revises SAFF U15 Match Fixtures After Sri Lanka Pulls Out". Goal Nepal. 4 October 2018.
 - ↑ "SAFF Under-15 Championship: Bangladesh beat Pakistan on penalties to claim second title". saffederation.org. SAFF. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
 - ↑ "FIFA Referees News: 2018 SAFF U-15 Championship - Final". 3 November 2018.