The SAFF Club Women’s Championship is the new competition introduced by SAFF for a pan-South Asia women’s club tournament involving top-flight winners or the highest-ranked team from five SAFF nations competing for the prize. The inaugural edition will be held in Kathmandu, Nepal, starting from 5th December 2025 and ending with the final on 20th December 2025. The teams will play each other in a round-robin format, with the top two teams at the end of the league phase moving into the showpiece. All games of the competition will be hosted in Dasharath Rangasala Stadium in the capital city.
IWL winners East Bengal will represent India in the 2025 SAFF Club Women's Championship following their debut AFC Champions League campaign in November 2025. Anthony Andrews’s girls will take on Nepalese league champions APF FC, Nasrin SC of Bangladesh, Transport United Ladies from Bhutan and Pakistan’s Karachi City in the competition. The tournament will make a competitive end to the calendar year and the Red and Gold could use it as an ideal preparation to defend their IWL crown in the upcoming season. They will be the favourites to win the inaugural edition, finishing 2025 on a high.
Opponents
APF FC (Nepal)
Established in 2001, APF FC is the most successful club in the Nepal national women’s football league or the ANFA Women's League, winning the top flight a record six times. The latest of which came in 2024, where they stayed unbeaten for a year, registering a whopping 18 victories, among which eight were in the league. They also created history by becoming the first Nepali women's club to participate in the AFC Women's Champions League. APF FC should be the favourites to make the final of the SAFF Club Women's Championship and pose a strong challenge to East Bengal.
Nasrin SC (Bangladesh)
Nasrin Sporting Club from Dhaka is the representative from Bangladesh in the competition, qualifying for the inaugural edition after winning the 2023-24 Bangladesh Women's Football League (BWFL). This was their first league title or any silverware in their 25-year history and one that broke the monopoly of the Basundhara Kings Women's team, who had won the league for the third consecutive time since the 2019-20 season. Nasrin SC won the top flight in a stunning fashion, winning seven of the available eight games and losing none while scoring an incredible 67 goals and conceding just four.
Transport United Ladies (Bhutan)
Transport United Ladies were the chosen club to represent Bhutan after the 2024 Bhutan Women's National League champions, Royal Thimphu College and the runners-up were not selected due to scheduling conflicts and not fulfilling logistics, infrastructure and licensing criteria. The combined ranking of AFC club points and FIFA ranking also played a part, as they were the leaders in it from Bhutan. Transport United finished third in their domestic league in 2024 and met the standards to participate in the competition.
Karachi City (Pakistan)
Karachi City of Pakistan had a remarkable domestic campaign that allowed them to qualify for the SAFF Club Women's Championship 2025 in style. They won their domestic top-flight title in their first-ever participation by winning all seven games, combining the zonal round, final round, semifinal and the final with a staggering 114 goals. The first two games themselves consisted of a mind-blowing 77 goals, while another 25 goals were scored in the final round. Karachi City then dismantled Hazara Quetta in the semifinal by 8-0 before clinching the title with a 4-0 victory against Legacy WFC in the final.
East Bengal Fixtures
8 December 2025
Transport United vs East Bengal (14:00)
11 December 2025
East Bengal vs Karachi City (14:00)
14 December 2025
Nasrin SC vs East Bengal (18:00)
17 December 2025
East Bengal vs APF FC (18:00)
Final
20 December 2025
1st placed team vs 2nd placed team (18:00)
East Bengal will begin their 2025 SAFF Club Women's Championship against the Bhutanese club Transport United on 8 December 2025 and then take on Karachi City of Pakistan two days later. Bangladesh’s Nasrin SC could be a tricky customer, but the ultimate challenge might lie against APF FC in the final group game on 17 December 2025. They could face the side from Nepal again in the final on 20 December 2025 in the battle to be crowned the inaugural SAFF Club Women's champion.
