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In a meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it was decided by all 7 members of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) to pull out of the South West Asian Football Federation (SWAFF), which is led by Saudi Arabia. The 7 members of SAFF -- namely India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, and Pakistan -- were of one mind and have taken this decision collectively. To the uninitiated, SAFF is a part of the Asian Football Confederation.
A new regional association -- SWAFF -- had also been recently set up in an attempt to improve the quality of football in the countries of the region.
The first General Assembly of SWAFF was held in August 2018 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There were 14 founding members present on the occasion: Bahrain Football Association, Bangladesh Football Federation, Bhutan Football Federation, All India Football Federation, Football Association of Maldives, All Nepal Football Association, Pakistan Football Association, Iraqi Football Association, Kuwait Football Association, Oman Football Association, Saudi Arabian Football Federation, Football Federation of Sri Lanka, UAE Football Association, Yemen Football Association.
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The SWAFF was more or less the fusion of SAFF and West Asian Football Federation (WAFF). Mr. Subrata Dutta had been named SWAFF's first vice president during the first General Assembly, while Adel Ezzat of Saudi Arabia had been named the President.
The withdrawal precedes the expected official recognition of AFC’s five Regional Federations by the AFC Congress on Wednesday, 31 October 2018.
There were even talks of a SWAFF Cup wherein India would have had the chance to go up against teams like UAE, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. A friendly between India and Saudi Arabia was also likely to take place ahead of the AFC Asia Cup.
Resources, infrastructure, and management expertise were promised by the SWAFF to its members. The vision was to create a fully transparent and self-sufficient football environment. None of this is likely to transpire after the unprecedented pull-out. The reason for such a massive decision is yet unclear.
