South Asian Federation [SAF] Games
The biennial South Asian Federation Games (SAF Games) is a multi-sport event first held in 1984 in Nepal. They are hosted in a south Asian country by any of the SAARC members.
The idea of SAF games was initiated in 1981 and was initially planned to be an annual event but could not be held every year due to various reasons. The participating nations are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
The SAF Games are yet to stabilize into being held regularly. The 1997 event was postponed until 1999, the 2001 event postponed several times, finally being staged in 2004 and the 2005 event postponed until 2006. From the latter date the event will be retitled the South Asian Games.
Track and field, swimming, field hockey, football, kabaddi and other smaller team sports are included in the games.
SAF NEWS
All-time medal table in SAF Games
| Rank | Country | Participated | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 11 | 900 | 542 | 286 | 1728 |
| 2 | Pakistan | 11 | 311 | 375 | 336 | 1022 |
| 3 | Sri Lanka | 11 | 185 | 288 | 455 | 928 |
| 4 | Nepal | 11 | 76 | 99 | 238 | 413 |
| 5 | Bangladesh | 11 | 63 | 162 | 347 | 572 |
| 6 | Afghanistan | 2 | 13 | 16 | 34 | 64 |
| 7 | Bhutan | 11 | 2 | 15 | 38 | 55 |
| 8 | Maldives | 11 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 9 |
Venues of the SAF Games
| Year | Games | Host City | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | I | Kathmandu | Nepal |
| 1985 | II | Dhaka | Bangladesh |
| 1987 | III | Calcutta | India |
| 1989 | IV | Islamabad | Pakistan |
| 1991 | V | Colombo | Sri Lanka |
| 1993 | VI | Dhaka | Bangladesh |
| 1995 | VII | Madras | India |
| 1999 | VIII | Kathmandu | Nepal |
| 2004 | IX | Islamabad | Pakistan |
| 2006 | X | Colombo | Sri Lanka |
| 2010 | XI | Dhaka | Bangladesh |
| 2015 | XII | Guwahati-Shillong | India |
| 2017 | XIII | Kathmandu | Nepal |
