| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Bangladesh |
| Dates | 10 – 20 January |
| Venue(s) | (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Bangladesh (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Maldives |
| Third place |  India |
| Fourth place |  Pakistan |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 16 |
| Goals scored | 39 (2.44 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Sarfraz Rasool (4 goals) |
The 2003 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh between 10 January 2003 and 20 January 2003. All matches were played at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. Originally scheduled to be held between 26 January 2002 and 5 February 2002, the tournament was postponed due to the suspension of Bangladesh Football Federation by FIFA. Afghanistan were not in the draw, but were included in the tournament following the recommendation from AFC to do so. It was also Bhutan's first tournament.
The final was contested by Bangladesh and the Maldives. Ali Umar had levelled in the second half after Kanchan had given Bangladesh the lead. The match went to penalties and Asraf Lufty had missed from the spot for the Maldives. Mohmmed Sujon kept his nerve to score the final penalty giving Bangladesh a 5–3 victory, and with it, their first SAFF Cup championship. Pakistan's Safraz Rasool was top goal scorer.
Group stage
Group A
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pakistan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 9 |
| India | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 4 |
 Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
.svg.png){kind=small} Afghanistan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | −6 | 0 |
| India | 0–1 | Pakistan |
|---|---|---|
Rasool  50' |
| Sri Lanka | 1–0 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Steinwall 41' |
| Pakistan | 2–1 | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|---|
| Zahid Niaz 50' Rasool 86' | Chathura Weersinghe 89' |
| India | 4–0 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Biswas 30' 63' D'Cunha 77' 86' |
| Pakistan | 1–0 | Afghanistan |
|---|---|---|
| Rasool 9' |
| India | 1–1 | Sri Lanka |
|---|---|---|
| Biswas 88' | Chryshantha Abeysekera 90' |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 9 |
| Maldives | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 6 |
 Nepal | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
 Bhutan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 11 | −11 | 0 |
| Bangladesh | 1–0 | Nepal |
|---|---|---|
| Alfaz 30' |
| Bangladesh | 1–0 | Maldives |
|---|---|---|
| Joy 90' |
| Nepal | 2–3 | Maldives |
|---|---|---|
| Niranjan Rayamajhi 56' Dev Narayan Chaudhary 90' (pen.) | Nizam 63' Ashraf Lutfy 75'Umar 85' |
| Bangladesh | 3–0 | Bhutan |
|---|---|---|
| Ariful Kabir Farhad 3' 54' Kanchan 78' |
Knockout phase
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 18 January | ||||||
| Bangladesh | 2 | |||||
| 20 January | ||||||
| India | 1 | |||||
| Bangladesh(p) | 1 (5) | |||||
| 18 January | ||||||
| Maldives | 1 (3) | |||||
| Maldives | 1 | |||||
| Pakistan | 0 | |||||
| Third place | ||||||
| 20 January | ||||||
| India | 2 | |||||
| Pakistan | 1 | |||||
Semi-finals
| Bangladesh | 2 – 1 (a.s.d.e.t.) | India |
|---|---|---|
| Kanchan 77' Motiur Munna 98' | D'Cunha 81' |
Third Place Match
| India | 2 – 1 (a.s.d.e.t.) | Pakistan |
|---|---|---|
| Vijayan 56' Jadav 99' | Rasool 66' |
Final
| Bangladesh | 1 – 1 (a.e.t.) | Maldives |
|---|---|---|
| Kanchan 13' | Umar 57' | |
| Penalties | ||
Islam  Muhiful Miah Hasan Al-Mamun Mahmudul Hasan Mohammad Sujon | 5–3 | Ahmed Naaz Ashraf LutfyAaron Gill Fazeel |
Champion
| 2003 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup Winners |
|---|
 Bangladesh First title |
Goalscorers
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
Ashim Biswas- Alvito D'Cunha
Rokonuzzaman Kanchan
Ali Shiyam- Ali Umar
- 2 goals
- Ariful Kabir
- Ashraf Luthfy
- Mohamed Nizam
- 1 goal
- Alfaz Ahmed
- Ibrahim Fazeel
- Arif Khan Joy
Zahid Niaz- Mohammed Rahman Munna
- I.M. Vijayan
- Abhishek Yadav