Nepal will host the SAFF Women’s Championship 2022 from August 29 to September 10 after the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) approved Nepal’s proposal to hold the regional football competition in Kathmandu, All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) said on Saturday.

A delegation led by ANFA general secretary Kiran Rai had officially submitted Nepal’s bid to host the sixth edition of the championship in the country’s capital at the SAFF Ordinary Congress, being held in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

“The proposal was endorsed by the SAFF executive committee meeting prior to the SAFF Ordinary Congress 2022,” ANFA said on its website.

SAFF had proposed Nepal to hold the women’s championship from August 12-24 at a virtual extraordinary Congress in January this year.

The decision means Nepal will be hosting the women’s competition for a second time in three years, after also hosting the last edition of the biennial event in Biratnagar in March 2019 for the first time.

Nepal had lost to India 3-1 in the final. Nepal have reached the final four times but have come short each time. India have won all five editions of the championship.

The first SAFF women’s championship was held in 2010 in Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, the Congress elected Kazi Md Salahuddin as the president of SAFF unopposed for a second term until 2026.

“We are not the best footballing region in the world but we have to work as a family to uplift the football in the region,” said the former Bangladeshi footballer. “When I was elected as president in 2009, we only had men's competitions. But now, we have conducted 27 competitions till this day. This shows how much progress we have made over the years.”

The Congress also appointed Bhutan Football Federation general secretary Ugyen Wangchhuk as the SAFF executive committee member, and Sri Lanka Football Federation president Jaswar Umar as the AFC executive committee member representing SAFF.