India’s squads for the SAFF Futsal Championship 2026 and the SAFF Women’s Futsal Championship 2026 have been announced. Both tournaments will take place in parallel in Nonthaburi, Thailand, later this month.
Team Arrival and Training
The Futsal Tigers and the Futsal Tigresses, each featuring 14 players, arrived in Bangkok on Wednesday. The men’s team is led by Iranian Reza Kordi, while the women’s team is guided by Indian Joshuah Vaz. Both squads underwent a month-long training camp together in Bengaluru prior to their journey to Thailand for the inaugural SAFF futsal tournaments.
Tournament Details
The SAFF Futsal Championship is scheduled from January 14 to 26, and the SAFF Women’s Futsal Championship will run from January 13 to 25. Both competitions will follow a single round-robin format, where the team with the most points will be hailed as champions. All seven SAFF member associations will compete in both events.
Fixtures
In the women’s tournament, India is set to clash with:
- Maldives (January 13)
- Bangladesh (January 15)
- Nepal (January 17)
- Pakistan (January 19)
- Bhutan (January 23)
- Sri Lanka (January 25)
For the men’s event, India’s fixtures are:
- Bangladesh (January 14)
- Nepal (January 18)
- Maldives (January 20)
- Bhutan (January 22)
- Sri Lanka (January 24)
- Pakistan (January 26)
Player History
Eight of the 14 players in the men’s team—Mollah, Silva, Lalsangkima, Adhikari, Roluahpuia, Mali, D’souza, and Lalrawngbawla—participated in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Qualifiers last year, where India achieved its first-ever international futsal victory by defeating Mongolia 3-0. The women’s squad includes seven players who played in the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup 2025 Qualifiers: Tanvi, Achom, Arya, Radhika, Pooja, Ritika, and Khushbu.
India’s Squad for the SAFF Futsal Championship 2026
- Goalkeepers: Aleef Rahman Mollah, Ozen Vivian Silva.
- Fixo: Lalsangkima, Lalsawmpuia.
- Ala: Anmol Adhikari, K Roluahpuia, Lalrinzuala H, Nikhil Mali, Seaon D’souza, Vincent Laltluangzela.
- Pivot: Hafis AM, Jonathan Lalrawngbawla, Palash Barber, Tijo Job.
- Head coach: Reza Kordi
India’s Squad for the SAFF Women’s Futsal Championship 2026
- Goalkeepers: Aiswarya Arumugam, Tanvi Mavani.
- Fixo: Achom Degio, Arya More, Jigmet Chunzen, Radhika Patel.
- Ala: Aarushi Santhosh, Diti Kanungo, Nishka Parkash, Pooja Gupta, Ritika Singh, Sonali Mondal.
- Pivot: Khushbu Saroj, Mithila Ramani.
- Head coach: Joshuah Vaz
Fixture Timings for the Men’s Team in the SAFF Futsal Championship 2026
- 15:30 IST, January 14: India vs Bangladesh
- 12:30 IST, January 18: India vs Nepal
- 15:30 IST, January 20: Maldives vs India
- 18:30 IST, January 22: Bhutan vs India
- 18:30 IST, January 24: Sri Lanka vs India
- 18:30 IST, January 26: India vs Pakistan
Fixture Timings for the Women’s Team in the SAFF Futsal Championship 2026
- 12:30 IST, January 13: Maldives vs India
- 12:30 IST, January 15: Bangladesh vs India
- 15:30 IST, January 17: India vs Nepal
- 18:30 IST, January 19: India vs Pakistan
- 18:30 IST, January 23: Bhutan vs India
- 15:30 IST, January 25: Sri Lanka vs India
Venue
The matches will be held at Nonthaburi Stadium, Nonthaburi, Thailand.