football

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Four central members of the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) have called for an executive committee meeting of the football governing body to discuss the dispute between chief coach Abdullah Al Mutairi and ten senior players who were told to leave the training camp recently. Such initiative was taken by ANFA’s Senior Vice President Pankaj Bikram Nembang. Nepmbang, along with ANFA Vice President Krishna Bahadur Thapa, Bir Bahadur Khadka and executive committee member Dawa Lama on Friday urged ANFA President Karma Chiring Sherpa to  summon an executive committee meeting to discuss the issue. Handing over a joint memorandum to the ANFA president, the four central members argued that the dispute between the chief coach and the football...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Chief coach Abdullah Al Mutairi, who kicked out 10 players from the national football team of Nepal, has called 17 new players for closed-camp training. The dispute between players and the chief coach started after Al Mutairi ordered Rohit Chand to leave the training camp for demanding the players to be kept at a hotel instead of ANFA hostel. Other nine players who backed the stand-in skipper were also told to leave the camp. This further flared up the tension as nine senior players left the camp saying that the players were ill treated for raising genuine demands. On Tuesday, Al Mutairi called 17 players including Bikesh Kuthu and George Prince Karki to fill the void left by the departure of 10 senior players. It has been learnt that the ne...

Agencies Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 17th goal of the season to salvage a draw for Manchester United after David de Gea had frustrated Chelsea with several superb saves. According to the BBC, the visitors were thoroughly dominant in the first half at Old Trafford but were unable to find a way past De Gea, who made saves from Kai Havertz and N'Golo Kante. But Chelsea finally broke the deadlock midway through the second half when Marcos Alonso volleyed home from an angle. The Blues' celebrations had barely finished as Manchester United responded within a minute, Nemanja Matic playing a brilliant ball into the box and Ronaldo taking a touch before thumping a shot into the net. That brought Old Trafford to life while discontent against the club's owners was still clear with p...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Four more footballers undergoing training for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers have expressed displeasure over the behavior of chief coach Abdullah Al Mutairi. Nine players had quit training after the chief coach kicked Rohit Chand out of the team. Nepal’s national football team’s captain Kiran Chemjong, who is currently outside the country, also expressed his concerns over the treatment of players by chief coach Al Mutairi in a Facebook post on Wednesday night. The four more players to openly protest against the coach include midfielder Pujan Uparkoti, forward Darshan Gurung, midfielder Arik Bista and goalkeeper Deep Karki. “I am dissatisfied with the treatment of players by the coach for raising genuine demands during the training of the natio...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Nepal’s national football team’s captain and goalkeeper Kiran Chemjong, who is currently outside the country, has expressed his displeasure over the treatment of players by chief coach Abdullah Al Mutairi. Chemjong made such remark on Wednesday night through social networking site Facebook. He posted a status saying: “I am dissatisfied with the treatment of players by the chief coach of the national team. It is not right to force the national players to leave the training camp for raising genuine concerns. As the captain and a member of the national team, I am always in support of the players.” Nine senior footballers preparing for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers 2023 had left the training camp on Tuesday expressing concerns over the treatment ...

Agencies Liverpool took a giant stride towards another Champions League final with a commanding 2-0 victory over Villarreal at Anfield on Wednesday. According to the BBC, Jurgen Klopp's quadruple-chasing Reds had to demonstrate patience to break down a Villarreal side well organised by European specialist Unai Emery. An own goal and a Sadio Mane strike earned Liverpool a 2-0 victory in their Champions League semi-final first-leg against Villarreal on Wednesday, Reuters reported. Liverpool were held at bay despite creating all the chances and needed a touch of fortune to break the deadlock after 53 minutes when Jordan Henderson's cross was deflected beyond Villarreal keeper Geronimo Rulli by Pervis Estupinan. Sadio Mane increased Liverpool's control when he touched Moham...

Agencies Manchester City will take a slender Champions League semi-final advantage to the Bernabeu after winning a seven-goal first-leg classic against Real Madrid at Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. City delivered a magnificent display as they kept themselves in serious contention to reach another final. According to media reports, Kevin de Bruyne set the tone for a magical night of football with a diving header from Riyad Mahrez's cross in the second minute and in-form Gabriel Jesus quickly added a second from close range as Real reeled under wave after wave of attacks. De Bruyne's superb diving header was the fastest goal scored in a Champions League semifinal, Reuters reported. Karim Benzema gave Real a lifeline by sweeping home Ferland Mendy's cross after 33 minutes. The...

Agencies Premier League leaders face La Liga giants in the Champions League semi-final stage this week. England is represented by title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City in the Champions League. Liverpool face Spain's Villarreal while Manchester City lock horns with Real Madrid in the semifinal starting from Tuesday night. The first semifinal is scheduled for 20:00 GMT (12:45 am NST) between City and Real. Will the Champions League be an all-English final? Can Villarreal upset the odds? Is Carlo Ancelotti going to claim his fourth European Cup? According to the BBC, the top two Premier League sides have largely swept aside all they have faced this campaign as they go toe-to-toe for every trophy on the table. City and Liverpool are favourites to win their respe...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Pema Dolma Lama has been elected the president of Women’s Association of the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) on Tuesday. Lama garnered 36 votes against 6 votes received by her opponent Bimala Poudel during the election held at ANFA Complex, Satdobato. Lamal is a central committee member of ANFA and also the coordinator of the Women’s Committee of the football governing body. Similarly, Pramila Singh Shrestha, Luna Pradhan and Kamala Hirachan were elected as the vice presidents of the association. Shrestha received 38 votes, Pradhan 35 and Hirachan 34. Another contender for the post of vice president Rama Bhattarai received 7 votes. Seven executive members of the Women’s Association of ANFA were unanimously elected. The seven members...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Buddhi Gurung has been elected as the president of ANFA Referee Association under the All Nepal Football Association. Gurung was the president even during the previous term. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association on Monday formed a new executive committee headed by Gurung. Shree Ram Ranjitkar, Binod KC and Madhusudhan Khanal have been elected as the vice presidents. Likewise, Shailesh Joshi, Birendar Bahadur Pandey, Nabindra Maharjan, Shrawn Kumar Tamang, Prakash Nath Shrestha, Pradeep Kumar Basnet, Shukra Tamang and Santosh Gurung have been elected unanimously as the members of the new committee. Kalpana Sharma has been elected from the women’s quota. All 13 members were elected unanimously as there were no other contestants. A...