This year's regional football tournament South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship is to kick off in Sri Lanka this June.

This year's tournament is to be held in Sri Lanka from June 22 to July 5.

The last time the SAFF Championship was held in Sri Lanka was in 2008. That year's tournament was co-hosted by Sri Lanka and the Maldives. In the final of the tournament, Maldives defeated India to win the championship.

The decision to hold this year's SAFF Championship in Sri Lanka was made at the SAFF Executive Committee meeting held in Kathmandu, Nepal on Tuesday.

The last SAFF Championship was held in 2023. India also won that tournament, which was held in Bengaluru, India.

Sri Lanka did not compete in that year's tournament after the world football governing body (FIFA) suspended the Football Federation of Sri Lanka.

SAFF had previously announced that this year's SAFF Championship format would be played on a home and away basis. However, due to inadequate preparation, the tournament could not be conducted in the new format.

As the SAFF Championship approaches this year, FIFA has normalized the Maldives. However, after a long time, the Maldives senior national football team has begun training. This is in preparation for the international friendly match to be played this month and the Asian Cup qualification matches.