The 10th South Asian Football Federation Championship gets under way in Kathmandu on Saturday. New Age will provide spot coverage of the event, with news and insight from Nepal.
Holy intervention for hosts
The Nepalese national football team visited the Pashupati Nath temple in Kathmandu ahead of their Group B match against Pakistan on Tuesday.
After a 2-0 victory over Bangladesh on Saturday gave the hosts a dream start to the 10th SAFF Championship, Nepal have now set their sights on winning their first ever SAFF Championship title.
Nepal coach Jack Stefanowski singled out the fans as one of the
factors behind the national side’s recent good
fortunes.
But it seems that the hosts are depending on more than just the home crowd, as they have asked for prayers from the whole nation before the match against Pakistan.
In-form Nepalese striker Anil Gurung believes that in order to win the championship the Gorkhali will also require divine support.
‘We always believe in almighty God and we are also trying to perform better,’ the forward, who scored one of the two goals against Bangladesh, said on Tuesday.
New boots for Ashfaq
Maldives national team coach Istavan Urbanyi presented a surprise gift to striker Ali Ashfaq after the 27-year-old forward scored half-a-dozen goals against Sri Lanka on Monday.
The Hungarian coach gifted a new pair of boots to Ashfaq after the striker’s exploits in Maldives’ 10-0 win over the Sri Lankans.
Ashfaq is the all-time record goalscorer in
SAFF Championships with 14 goals, two more than former India forward IM Vijayan.
-With New Age input
