The 2017 SAFF U-18 Championship was the 2nd edition of the SAFF U-18 Championship, an international football competition for men's under-18 national teams organized by SAFF. But since most teams use to send their U-18 team keeping in mind 2018 AFC U-19 Championship qualification it has been officially changed to U-18 tournament. The tournament was hosted by Bhutan 18–27 September 2017.
It was the first time that Bhutan was hosting SAFF event.
Host selection A draw for tournament ceremony was held on 10 July 2017 at conference room of Bangladesh Football Federation.
SAFF general secretary Anwarul Haque Helal and BFF general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag, were among others present on the occasion.
Player eligibility Players born on or after 1 January 1999 are eligible to compete in the tournament.
Participating teams On 6 September 2017 it was announced that Sri Lanka withdrew from the tournament whereas Pakistan didn't take part due to internal turmoil.
TeamAppearances in thePrevious 2nd Semi finals (2015) (Host) 2nd Group Stage 2nd Runners-Up (2015) 2nd Group Stage 2nd Champion (2015)
Venue
Thimphu Changlimithang Stadium Capacity: 25,000
Match officials
Referees Abdur Rahman Dhali Ugyen Dorji Pratik Mondal Hussain Sinan Laba Khatri Farook M. Irshad
Assistant Referees Mohammad Shah Alam Phurpa Wangchuk Mohan Ravi Karma Yeshi Padam Bahadur Bhujel Sampath Liyanagunawardena
Referee Supervisor Tayeb Hasan Shamsuzzaman
Format After Sri Lanka U18 opted out from the event. Now the championship will be played on round robin basis. Each team will face every other team once respectively and the team with the most points will win the title.
Standings All matches are played in Thimphu, Bhutan. Times listed are UTC+06:00. Key to colours in group tablesChampion
Winner
Awards The following awards were given for the 2017 SAFF U-18 Championship.
FIFA Fair Play Award Golden Boot Award Jafar Iqbal
Goalscorers 5 Goals
Jafar Iqbal
3 Goals
Lalawmpuia
2 Goals
Orgyen Tshering Princeton Rebello Roman Limbu Dinesh Henjan
1 Goal
Saikot Mahmoud Munna Rahmat Mia Mahbubur Rahman Sufil Edmund Lalrindika Asish Rai Rejin Subba Ahmed Tholal Abhishek Halder Abhishek Rijal Mohammad Al-Amin
References