ANFA announces squad for SAFF Championship

All Nepal Football Association announced the Nepalese National Team squad for SAFF Championship which is starting from 31st August on Kathmandu. National team coach Jack Stefanowski and his assistant Richard Orloswki selected the squad after long tour to the Gulf countries like Bahrain and Kuwait and the training schedule that coaches conducted after the return of team from the tour. Sagar Thapa will lead team in the SAFF championship while Nepal U16 striker Bimal Ghartimagar has been also slected. Bharat Khawas also made it to the team after missing out the tour of Gulf nations due to his training of Nepal Army. Team consists of 3 goalkeepers, 6 defenders, 6 mid-fielders and 5 strikers. Nepalese National Squad for SAFF championship are: Goal-keepers: Kiran Chemjong, Bishal Shrestha and Ritesh Thapa Defenders : Sagar Thapa (Captain), Biraj Maharjan, Rabin Shrestha, Sabindra Shrestha, Sandip Rai and Rohit Chand Mid-fielders: Bhola Silwal, Raju Tamang, Bikram Lama, Jagjeet Shrestha, Tanka Basnet and Prakash Budhathoki Strikers:  Anil Gurung, Bimal Ghartimagar, Jumanu Rai, Bharat Khawas and Santhosh Sahukhala. Players who missed out are: Tek Bahadur Budhathoki Nirajan Khadka Bijay Dhimal Bijay Gurung Anata Tamang -

India, Sri Lanka arrive in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU, Aug 27: The national football teams of India and Sri Lanka arrived in Kathmandu on Wednesday for the upcoming SAFF Championship that is set to begin at the Dasharath Stadium on Saturday.

Sri Lanka is in Group B of the tournament alongside the Maldives, Afghanistan and Bhutan. Sri Lanka´s team coach Claudio Roberto claimed that his team is in a tough group of the tournament. However, he said that his side has improved a lot during the recent training in Thailand and vowed that his team would put up a good show during the tournament. "We have trained well. Our first match against the Maldives is very important for us. We need some rest and need to acclimatize," said Roberto.
Meanwhile, defending champion India arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday afternoon. Five-time champion India has been drawn in Group A of the tournament along with host Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

India captain Sunil Chhetri said his team faces pressure to defend the title and that it would respect all the opponents in the tournament as all are equal. "We want to defend the title and we are here for it. Every team in the group is strong while Nepal has the advantage of home ground," said Chhetri.
Teams of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan have already arrived in Kathmandu.

Pakistan held by Nepali youth team

Pakistan national team was held to a 1-1 draw by a Nepali youth team in a practice match on Tuesday at the Army Sports Complex in Lagankhel, Lalitpur. Nepal U-19 team played against Pakistan in the first half, while the Nepal U-16 team was fielded in the second half. Nepal U-19 player Asim Jung Karki scored in the first half that ended 1-1. The Nepali U-19 and U-16 teams are preparing for their respective Asian Championship Qualifiers.
Pakistan will take on arch-rival India in its first match of the SAFF Championship on Sunday.

SOURCE: MYREPUBLICA

Nepal to participate in Junior Open Squash Championships

Nepal to participate in the fifth Indian Junior Open Squash Championships going to be held in Chennai, India from August 27-31, 2013.

The National Sports Council Member Secretary Yubaraj Lama on Sunday bade farewell to the three-member Nepali team.

Amrit Thapa will compete in U-17 while Akash Sunuwar in U-13 categories. Similarly, Suresh Kumar Gurung is the coach of the team. nepalnews.com

Nepal football team wraps up gulf tour

Nepal national football team, which went for practice matches prior to the eighth SAFF Championships, wrapped up their three-week gulf tour.

The Nepali team defeated Kuwait’s Al-Fahaheel Sporting Club 3-0 in their last match on Saturday as Anil Gurung scored two goals while Tek Bahadur Budhathoki added one.

Nepal won four matches of the total five friendly matches played during the tour.

The championships is rescheduled to kick off from from August 31 to September 11, one day earlier than the previous fixed date.

Nepal will take on Bangladesh in the inaugural match.

Nepal have been drawn alongside defending champion India, Bangladesh and Pakistan in the Group A while Afghanistan, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Bhutan are drawn in Group B.

The winner of the championship will bag US$50,000 while the second runner-up will receive US$25,000. Similarly, the third and the fourth team will get US$10,000 each.

Nepal had also hosted the competition in 1997. nepalnews.com

First Sports App Of Nepal Launched; Aba Goal Huncha Hat-Hat Ma!

First sports apps of Nepal was launched today amid a small program at Dasrath Stadium.

AFC VP & ANFA President Ganesh Thapa launched GoalNepal.com Apps for iPhone & Android devices.

GoalNepal.com & Jasper It Pvt Ltd partnered together to bring first sports app of Nepal.

AFC President & AFC VP Thapa appreciated the work and congratulated GoalNepal.com for bringing apps for tech geeks football loving people.

GoalNepal.com CEO Bikram Thapa said that he was proud to launch the first sports apps of Nepal.

“We are always determined to take Nepalese football to greater heights”, Thapa said, “Promotion of the game is very important. Proper communication is needed. Since internet users are growing in Nepal and most of the people are carrying smart phones, we decided to launch the apps targeting all football lovers to get football news on time with an easy access”.

Senior Engineer of Jasper IT Pvt Ltd, Ajeet Shakya expressed his happiness over the launch of the apps.

“We have worked hard to bring this apps for the football loving people”, Shakya said, “We hope Nepalese football lovers in Nepal and worldwide will have an easy access of the news through iPhone & Android devices”.

Dharmaraj Rupakhevi and Damodar Shrestha were in Shakya’s team to develop the apps.

GoalNepal.com appeals all football lovers to test GoalNepal.com apps iPhone &  Android devices and leave your response.

FIFA World Cup Trophy Coming To Nepal

All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) in partnership with Coca-cola have confirmed FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour to Nepal. Nepalese will get a rare opportunity to see the FIFA World Cup trophy up close in Kathmandu this December 21, 2013

The World Cup trophy is usually set in a world-wide tour a year before the tournament and this time its coming to Nepal. FIFA World Cup trophy tour is sponsored by Coca-Cola. It is learned that Coca-Cola is trying to bring a former World Cup winning captain, most likely the German Lothar Matthaus, during the tour of the trophy.

According to GoalNepal.com ANFA president Ganesh Thapa said that he was delighted to be partnering with Coca-Cola to stage the FIFA World Cup trophy tour in Nepal. Thapa also appreciated Coke officials for their efforts in bringing FIFA World Cup trophy in Nepal.

After the three-day visit in Bangladesh, the World Cup trophy will travel to Bhutan, Nepal and India before going to Thailand as part of the world-wide tour of the trophy that will end in Brazil in 2014.

The trophy stands 36.5 centimetres (14.4 inches) tall and is made of 5 kg (11 lb) of 18 carat (75%) gold with a base (13 centimetres [5.1 inches] in diameter) containing two layers of malachite.