Afghanistan defeated India by 2-0 to lift SAFF Championship 2013 Trophy

Afghanistan won the South Asian Football Federations (SAFF) Championship 2013 on 11 September 2013 by defeating India, the defending champions by 2-0 at Dashrath Rangashala stadium in Kathmandu, Nepal. This is maiden international trophy lifted by Afghanistan in Football.

In the 2011 edition of SAFF Championship India defeated Afghanistan by 4-0 in the finals. Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives and hosts Nepal were the other teams in the tournament, regarded as the symbol of football supremacy in South Asia.

Indian History in SFAA Football Championship
• India has won the championship six times 1993, 1997, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2011)
• This is the first time that India faced a defeat by Afghanistan
• India won the first edition of the SAFF championship in 1993 held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka was the runner up team. In 1993, the championship was named as Asian Association of Regional Co-operation Gold Cup.

The next edition of the SAFF Championship will be held in India in 2015.

South Asian Football Federations

The SAFF Championship, also called the South Asian Football Federation Cup is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by the South Asian Football Federation. Earlier it was known as the South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup. Eight teams compete in the South Asian Football Federation Tournament. The other names of the tournament included the South Asian Association of Regional Co-operation Gold Cup in 1993 and South Asian Gold Cup 95 in 1995. The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship kicked off in Kathmandu in 1997.