By a Staff Reporter
Nepal National Women’s Football team players trio skipper/custodian Anjila Tumbapo Subba, defender Gita Rana and forward Sabitra Bhandari aka Samba flew toward India on Thursday to compete in the Indian Women’s League (IWL).
Sabitra will feature the defending champions Gokulam Kerala FC (GKFC). In contrast, Gita and Anjila will represent the most recent runners-up Sethu FC in the 9th season of India’s topmost Women’s league, expected to kick off on 15th January 2023.
Gokulam Kerala FC and Samba reached an agreement in July for one year. Samba joined the Malabarians in August to compete in AFC Women’s Club Championship Qualifiers. The GKFC landed in Uzbekistan in mid-august to mark India’s first participation in the AFC Women’s Club Championship. However, they returned empty-handed as the club was declared ineligible to compete in the continental meet following the ban implemented by FIFA to the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
Samba then returned to Nepal to join the national team for SAFF Women’s Championship. However, the star forward featured the Championship’s runners-up only twice as she got infected by dengue, which ruled her out after the first outing against Bhutan.
Moreover, Anjila and Gita are set to play their maiden tournament in India. Earlier in 2021, the duo along with Anita KC and Saru Limbu appeared for Masha United in the National Women’s Football Championship, the top-tier women’s league in Pakistan.
The Nepali Internationals helped Masha United reach the semifinals before the tournament got canceled following a ban implemented by FIFA on PFF. Astonishingly, Goalie Anjila and Center Back Gita netted 2 each in Masha United’s empathic 35-0 win over Karachi Women FC back in March 2021.
