By IANS
Male : India will begin their South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship campaign with a game against Nepal here June 3, it was announced after the draw Thursday.
The tournament to be hosted jointly by Maldives and Sri Lanka will have $95,000 prize money – $50,000 for the winner, $25,000 for the runner-up and $10,000 for each losing semi finalist. World Sports Group (WSG) of Singapore will sponsor the tournament.
Co-host Maldives, Pakistan, India and Nepal are in Group A. Bangladesh, who beat Maldives on penalties five years ago to lift the prestigious regional trophy for the first time, will be vying for top spot in Group B, which also includes 1995 champion and co-host Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Afghanistan.
The group matches that involve Maldives will be played at the National Stadium here and group matches involving Sri Lanka will be played in Sugathadha Stadium, Colombo. The final will be played in Colombo, June 14.
Group A: Maldives, Pakistan, India and Nepal (matches will be played at Male)
Group B: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Bhutan (matches will be played at Colombo)
Fixtures:
June 3: Nepal vs. India; Maldives vs. Pakistan
June 4: Bangladesh vs. Bhutan, Sri Lanka vs. Afghanistan
June 5: Pakistan vs. India, Maldives vs. Nepal
June 6: Afghanistan vs. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka vs. Bhutan
June 7: Pakistan vs. Nepal, Maldives vs. India
June 8: Afghanistan vs. Bhutan, Sri Lanka vs. Bangladesh
June 11: Semi-finals at Male and Colombo
June 14: Final at Colombo