2003 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup
The 2003 South Asian Football Federation 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 the recommendation from AFC to do so. It was also Bhutan's first tournament.[1]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Bangladesh |
| Dates | 10–20 January |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Bangladesh (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Maldives |
| Third place |  India |
| Fourth place |  Pakistan |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 39 (2.44 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Sarfraz Rasool (4 goals) |
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 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 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Afghanistan |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 |
| India | 0–1 | Pakistan |
|---|---|---|
Rasool  50' |
| Sri Lanka | 1–0 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Steinwall 41' |
| Pakistan | 2–1 | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|---|
| Niaz 50' Rasool 86' |
Weersinghe 89' |
| India | 4–0 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Biswas 30', 63' D'Cunha 77', 86' |
| Pakistan | 1–0 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Rasool 9' |
| India | 1–1 | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|---|
| Biswas 88' |
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 |
| Bangladesh | 1–0 | Nepal |
|---|---|---|
| Alfaz 30' |
| Bangladesh | 1–0 | Maldives |
|---|---|---|
| Joy 90' |
| Bangladesh | 3–0 | Bhutan |
|---|---|---|
| Farhad 3', 54' Kanchan 78' |
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' |
D'Cunha 81' |
Third-place match
| India | 2–1 (a.s.d.e.t.) | Pakistan |
|---|---|---|
| Vijayan 56' Yadav 99' |
Rasool 66' |
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
References
- "SAFF Championship 2003". Retrieved 16 April 2023.