India begin SAFF U17 campaign against Nepal

India’s U17 women’s team face Nepal in their SAFF U17 Championship opener in Bhutan. The round-robin tournament will decide the champion on August 31. Coach Joakim Alexandersson remains upbeat

Hyderabad: The Indian Under-17 women’s team will begin their SAFF U17 Women’s Championship 2025 campaign with a clash against Nepal on Wednesday at the Changlimithang Stadium in Thimphu, Bhutan, at 14:30 IST.
The match will be streamed live on the Sportzworkz YouTube Channel.

In a new tournament format, four teams — Bangladesh and Bhutan being the other two — will play against each other in a double round-robin league, which means each team will play six matches. The team that finishes at the top of the table after the final matchday on August 31 will be crowned champions.

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India head coach Joakim Alexandersson, who led the Under-20s to Asian Cup qualification just nine days ago, is not bothered by the quick turnaround time and is eager to guide the U17s in the Bhutan capital.

“It’s no problem for me at all because I enjoy coaching. Of course, after the last game in Myanmar, there were a lot of emotions, but then we had the trip back, I had a day off, and we started again with this bunch. So it’s fine,” said the Swede.