The eight-nation tournament, dubbed the "World Cup of South Asian nations� by the organisers, will be played in Colombo and Male from June 3-14, event managers, the Singapore-based World Sports Group (WSG), announced.

Defending champions India were clubbed with Pakistan, Nepal and Maldives in group A with all their matches taking place in Male.

Bangladesh, runners-up to India in the 2005 event in Pakistan, will take on Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bhutan in group B matches to be played in Colombo.

The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals with the final to be held at Colombo's Sugathadasa stadium on June 14.

The winners will pocket 50,000 dollars, the losing finalists half that amount, while the ousted semi-finalists will get 10,000 dollars each, the WSG said in a statement.

Groups and schedule:
Group A : India, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives (based in Male)
Group B : Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan (based in Colombo)

June 3 : Nepal v India, Maldives v Pakistan
June 4 : Bangladesh v Bhutan, Sri Lanka v Afghanistan
June 5 : Pakistan v India, Maldives v Nepal
June 6 : Afghanistan v Bangladesh, Sri Lanka v Bhutan
June 7 : Pakistan v Nepal, Maldives v India
June 8 : Afghanistan v Bhutan, Sri Lanka v Bangladesh
June 11: Semi-finals - A1 v B2 in Male, B1 v A2 in Colombo
June 14: Final in Colombo

 

Source: AFP / The Rising Nepal