Kathmandu: Nepal is set to start the 13th edition of the SAAF Championship Football Tournament by playing against Maldives.
Nepal has got Maldives as its first opponent in the 13th edition of the South Asian Football Federation (SAF). It has been decided that Maldives, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will participate in the 13th edition which has been postponed for a year.
It has been decided that Bhutan and Pakistan will not participate in this edition. Earlier, Bhutan had indicated that it could participate, but Pakistan, which was suspended from FIFA along with Bhutan due to Corona’s refusal to participate at the last minute, is also out of the competition.
The five-nation competition is being organized from 15 to 27 September. As per the schedule made public today, the match between Nepal and Maldives will be played on October 29 at the National Football Stadium in Male.
Similarly, Nepal is scheduled to play the second match against Sri Lanka on October 3, the third match against India on October 7 and the final match of the league stage against Bangladesh on October 8.
The top two teams will compete for the title on September 12 after the league stage match. Nepal is intensifying preparations for the SAAF Championship at Pokhara Stadium under the tutelage of Head Coach Abdullah Almutairi.
For the tournament, head coach Almutairi has selected 28 players out of 10 players in closed training in Pokhara.
