football

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Bagmati Youth Club Sarlahi stunned A Division League Champions Machhindra FC on Tuesday to reach the semifinals of Khaptad Gold Cup football tournament being held in Dhangadhi. Bagmati secured a place in the last four after defeating Machhindra 4-2 in tie-breaker. The match headed towards tie-breaker after the regular 90 minutes ended in a goalless draw. Both teams scored the first two goals from the penalty spot during the tie-breaker. Mahhindra’s Bishal Rai’s attempt to score the third goal for the club went wide. But Machhindra’s goalkeeper Bishal Shrestha foiled an attempt by Birgunj’s Diwas Limbu to bring the club back in contention. However, Machhindra’s Omoluza Nuren Karim also hit the ball wide to blow away their chance. Speaking at the...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Nepal’s national men’s football team is gearing up for two friendly matches in Thailand. The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) confirmed that Nepal will play a friendly match against Thailand and another match against a local team. According to ANFA, Nepal will play a friendly match against Thailand’s national football team on March 24 and then face a local club Chonburi FC on March 27. Both the matches will be played in Chonburi. Nepal is playing the friendly matches as a preparation for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers. Prior to this, Nepal had hosted Mauritius for two friendly matches – one each on January 29 and February 1 at its home ground in Kathmandu. Nepal had won both the matches with identical scoreline of 1-0.

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Nepal’s national footballer Sujal Shrestha has been blessed with a baby girl. Shrestha, who is also the captain of Machhindra Football Club, informed that his wife Salika Chand gave birth to a baby girl at Mediciti Hospital at 2:46 pm on Monday. The health of the mother and the newborn is said to be normal. Shrestha, a local of Dhankuta, had married Shurkhet’s Salika Chand seven years ago. This is the couple’s first child. Shrestha, who made a comeback in football this year, helped his team Machhindra FC defend the A Division League title. This is the fourth straight time that Shrestha has won the league title, including two times with his former club Manang Marshyangdi Club. Shrestha is also the marquee player of Pokhara Thunders in the Nepal ...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Lumbini FC have secured New Road Team’s Captain Darshan Gurung for the Nepal Super League (NSL) with maximum bid during Friday’s auction. His fate was decided through lottery after six out of ten clubs in the franchise-based league were  interested in securing the player. Gurung had player for Dhangadhi FC during the first edition of NSL. New Road Team had recently finished third in the A Division League under his captaincy. The minimum bid for ‘A’ category player is Rs 150,000 and the maximum bid is Rs 350,000. He made it through the maximum bid. Some of the household names in Nepali football have been unsold in the league. Suman Lama of Nepal Police Club, Bharat Khawas of Army, Bikram Lama of Three Star, Abhishek Rijal of Machhindra were unso...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - National footballer and midfielder of Manang Marshyangdi Club Pujan Uparkoti will be playing in the Nepal Super League (NSL) from Dhangadhi Football Club this year as well. Dhangadhi managed to secure the player in the golden market during Friday’s auction. The maximum charge of players in the golden market is Rs 350,000. Nepal Sports and Event Management (NSEM) is organizing the NSL from April 9. The second edition of the franchise-based league has ten teams after three new teams were added this season. A total of 242 players divided into three categories were auctioned. The ten teams included in the league are Jhapa XI, Sporting Ilam Mechi, Birgunj United FC, Kathmandu RayZRs, Dhangadhi FC, Lalitpur FC, Chitwan City FC, Butwal, Lumbini, Pokha...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - New Road Team’s midfielder and national footballer Arik Bista will be featuring in the Nepal Super League representing Pokhara Thunders. He made it to the club through a lottery draw during Friday’s auction. The decision was taken through lottery draw after five teams were interested in having the player. The minimum bid for ‘A’ category player is Rs 150,000 and the maximum bid is Rs 350,000. He made it through the maximum bid. Nepal Sports and Event Management (NSEM) is organizing the NSL from April 9. The second edition of the franchise-based league has ten teams after three new teams were added this season. A total of 242 players divided into three categories were auctioned. The ten teams included in the league are  Jhapa XI, Sportin...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Nepal Super League’s auction will go ahead as planned on Friday, informed the organizer of the league Nepal Sports and Event Management (NSEM). NSEM CEO Sudeep Sharma confirmed that the auction will be held as per the schedule. ANFA’s General Secretary Indra Man Tuladhar had reportedly requested NSEM to halt the auction after consulting with A Division League clubs. However, Sharma said that they haven’t received any letter in this regard yet. He therefore said that the auction will move ahead as planned before. According to NSEM, the auction will begin at 10 am on Friday. Eight clubs of the A Division League had issued joint statements on Sunday and Wednesday requesting ANFA to hold discussion with the concerned parties. The A Division club...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Pokhara Thunders have announced Machhindra Football Club’s captain as their marquee player for the upcoming Nepal Super League. Pokhara Thunders signed an agreement in this regard with Shrestha amid a function on Thursday. Shrestha, who was sold for the maximum of Rs 200,000 during last season’s auction, couldn’t feature in the league due to an injury layoff. However, Pokhara Thunders had given him management responsibilities. This year, he was announced as the marquee player. All ten teams competing in the event scheduled for next month have been announcing their marquee players. Kathmandu RayZRs also announced their marquee player and coach on Thursday. The team  has signed Bikesh Kuthu as their marquee player. Likewise, Biratnagar Ci...

Agencies Manchester United have withdrawn Russian airline Aeroflot's sponsorship rights after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Premier League club reportedly said on Friday. Russia's Aeroflot was banned from flying to the United Kingdom on Thursday after President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine. According to Reuters, UK Civil Aviation Authority said it had suspended Aeroflot's foreign carrier permit. "In light of events in Ukraine, we have withdrawn Aeroflot's sponsorship rights. We share the concerns of our fans around the world and extend our sympathies to those affected," the news agency quoted a club spokesperson as saying. United made Aeroflot its first Russian sponsor in 2013 when it became the club's airline partner, replacing Turkish Airlines. Russia h...

By a Staff Reporter Kathmandu - Ruslan Three Star Club’s midfielder Dona Thapa scored a goal moments ahead of the final whistle of their last match of the Qatar Airways Martyrs Memorial A Division League on Friday to salvage a draw against already-relegated Brigade Boys Club. Thapa scored in the last minute of injury time to spare the blushes of Three Star with a 1-1 draw. Prashant Tamang had earlier scored a goal to give BBC the lead during the match held at ANFA Complex, Satdobato. Both the goals were scored in the second half. Tamang took advantage of confusion between Three Star captain Ashok Khawas and Rafael Rim regarding who should receive the ball released by goalkeeper Angel Shrestha. Tamang was quick to snatch the ball and score in a one-versus-one situation. How...