The 2003 SAFF Gold Cup was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh between 10 January 2003 and 20 January 2003. All matches were played at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. Originally scheduled to be held between 26 January 2002 and 5 February 2002, the tournament was postponed due to the suspension of Bangladesh Football Federation by FIFA. Afghanistan were not in the draw, but were included in the tournament following an AFC recommendation to do so. It was also Bhutan's first tournament.[2]
The final was contested by Bangladesh and the Maldives. Ali Umar had levelled in the second half after Kanchan had given Bangladesh the lead. The match went to penalties and Asraf Lufty had missed from the spot for the Maldives. Mohammed Sujan kept his nerve to score the final penalty giving Bangladesh a 5–3 victory, and with it, their first SAFF Cup championship. Pakistan's Safraz Rasool was top goal scorer.
Venue
The Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka was the only venue for the tournament. It is also the home venue for Bangladesh national football team.
| Dhaka | |
|---|---|
| Bangabandhu National Stadium | |
| Capacity: 36,000 | |
|
Squads
Group stage
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Pakistan
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 9 |
 India
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 4 |
 Sri Lanka
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
 Afghanistan
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 |
| India | 0–1 | Pakistan |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Rasool  50' |
| Sri Lanka | 1–0 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Steinwall 41' |
Report |
| Pakistan | 2–1 | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|---|
| Niaz 50' Rasool 86' |
Report | Weersinghe 89' |
| Pakistan | 1–0 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Rasool 9' |
Report |
| India | 1–1 | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|---|
| Biswas 88' |
Report | Abeysekera 90' |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bangladesh
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 9 |
 Maldives
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 6 |
 Nepal
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
 Bhutan
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | −11 | 0 |
| Maldives | 6–0 | Bhutan |
|---|---|---|
| Nizam 2' Luffy 11'Shiham 24', 25', 67'Umar 77' |
Report |
| Bangladesh | 1–0 | Nepal |
|---|---|---|
| Alfaz 30' |
Report |
| Bangladesh | 1–0 | Maldives |
|---|---|---|
| Joy 90' |
Report |
| Bangladesh | 3–0 | Bhutan |
|---|---|---|
| Farhad 3', 54' Kanchan 78' |
Report |
Knockout phase
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 18 January | ||||||
| Bangladesh | 2 | |||||
| 20 January | ||||||
| India | 1 | |||||
| Bangladesh(p) | 1 (5) | |||||
| 18 January | ||||||
| Maldives | 1 (3) | |||||
| Maldives | 1 | |||||
| Pakistan | 0 | |||||
| Third place play-off | ||||||
| 20 January | ||||||
| India | 2 | |||||
| Pakistan | 1 | |||||
Semi-finals
| Bangladesh | 2–1 (a.s.d.e.t.) | India |
|---|---|---|
| Kanchan 77' Munna  98'[3] |
Report | D'Cunha 81' |
Third-place match
| India | 2–1 (a.s.d.e.t.) | Pakistan |
|---|---|---|
| Vijayan 56' Yadav 99' |
Report | Rasool 66' |
Final
| Bangladesh | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Maldives |
|---|---|---|
| Kanchan 13' |
Report | Umar 57' |
| Penalties | ||
Nazrul  Farhad Al-Mamun Hasan Sujan |
5–3 | Naaz Lutfy Naseem Fazeel |
Champion
| SAFF Gold Cup 2003 |
|---|
 Bangladesh First title |
Goalscorers
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- Rokonuzzaman Kanchan
- Ashim Biswas
- Alvito D'Cunha
- Ali Shiyam
- Ali Umar
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
- Alfaz Ahmed
- Kumar Thapa
- Ibrahim Fazeel
- Arif Khan Joy
- Dev Narayan Chaudhary
- Zahid Niaz
- Motiur Rahman Munna
- I.M. Vijayan
- Abhishek Yadav
References
- ^ "New SAFF kings". The Daily Star. 21 January 2003. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
- ^ "SAFF Championship 2003". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
- ^ "I'll cherish the golden goal in all of my life". New Age. 5 May 2020. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
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