SAFF Championship 2011 from Friday

The ninth edition of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup will open at the magnificent Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi on December 2, 2011.

In the opening match of the tournament, Bangladesh and Pakistan will face each others, while the second seeded Maldives will be up against Nepal in the late kick off.

The hosts and the defending champions, India will kick off their campaign against Afghanistan in Group B  on the second matchday. In the other match on Saturday, Sri Lanka and Bhutan will rub their shoulders.

India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Afghanistan are pooled in the Group A while Maldives, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal are drawn in the Group B. Two top teams from each group will qualify for the semi finals which are scheduled for  December 9, 2011.

The final showdown will take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on December 11, 2011 from 06:00 PM IST.

South Asian Football Federation Cup 2011 Venue: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi

Group A: Afghanistan, India (1st seed), Sri Lanka, Bhutan
Group B: Bangladesh, Maldives (2nd seed), Pakistan, Nepal

Fixtures:

December 02, 2011:
15:00 IST - Bangladesh vs Pakistan
18:00 IST - Maldives vs Nepal

December 03, 2011:
15:00 IST - India vs Afghanistan
18:00 IST - Sri Lanka vs Bhutan

December 04, 2011:
15:00 IST - Nepal vs Bangladesh
18:00 IST - Pakistan vs Maldives

December 05, 2011:
15:00 IST - Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka
18:00 IST - Bhutan vs India

December 06, 2011:
15:00 IST - Pakistan vs Nepal
18:00 IST -  Maldives vs Bangladesh

December 07, 2011:
15:00 IST - Bhutan vs Afghanistan
18:00 IST -  India vs Sri Lanka

December 09, 2011:
15:00 IST - Winner B vs Runner-up A (Semi Final 1)
18:00 IST - Winner A vs Runner-up B (Semi Final 2)

December 11, 2011:
18:00 IST -  Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 (Final)

From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Sunday 27 November 2011, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.