Sri Lanka announces 28-member football squad for SAFF Championship 2026

Newswire and ThePapare report that Sri Lanka Football has announced a 28-member squad for the 2026 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship. ThePapare identifies Sujan Perera as captain and Abdullah Almutairi as head coach; three goalkeepers are included.

ThePapare reports that the tournament’s 15th edition is scheduled to take place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from November 5 to November 17, with six national teams competing. Group A comprises Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, while defending champions India, Pakistan and the Maldives are in Group B.

According to ThePapare, the top two teams in each group will qualify for the semifinals on November 14, and the final is set for November 17. The outlet also reports that video assistant referee technology will be used for the first time in the competition’s history during the semifinals and final.

ThePapare says Sri Lanka’s previous SAFF title came in 1995, when the team beat India 1-0 in Colombo. Its English-language report says Sri Lanka is scheduled to open against Bhutan on November 8, but also gives November 1 for its match against tournament hosts Bangladesh; that sequence does not align with the tournament dates reported in the Tamil-language article.

Written automatically by AI from the outlets’ own reports, and not reviewed by an editor. It can be wrong — the original report is the authority.