By a Staff Reporter
The teams to compete in the Women’s SAFF Championship to be held in Nepal next month have been grouped. SAFF has divided the teams into two groups amidst a program on Saturday.
Sri Lanka and Bhutan are in Group B with the hosts of sixth edition, Nepal. Nepal has won all the matches played against Sri Lanka and Bhutan in the SAFF Championship so far. Similarly, Group A consists of defending champion India, Bangladesh, Maldives and Pakistan. The tournament is scheduled to be held at Dashrath Stadium in Kathmandu from September 6 to 19, 2022.
Nepal has announced a 58-member preliminary squad for the tournament. Currently, the players are divided into two groups of 29 members for the training. The next round of selection will take place in a few days.
ANFA has appointed Kumar Thapa as the head coach and Bindra Dewan has been given the responsibility of team manager. Earlier, Thapa looked after the team in the fourth edition of SAFF Women Championship which concluded in Siliguri, India. At that time, the team’s journey ended in the semi-finals. In the fifth edition which took place in Biratnagar, Nepal lost to India in the finals. Hari Khadka was incharge of the team back then. So far, Nepal has been defeated in all the editions by India and remained title less. Four time runners-up Nepal will be aiming to win the title for the first time.
