Team Nepal fails to end Women’s SAFF Championship drought

 

Another opportunity to end the women’s South Asian Federation Championship title drought  goes in vain for the   women’s national team of Nepal.

They exited the  regional championship which concluded in Margao, Goa, India recently, following defeat at the hands of defending champions Bangladesh 1-2 in the semifinals .

Nepal looked  poised to enter the  final,following defender Gita  Rana’s goal in the 22nd minute of the first half, giving them the crucial lead.

However, within a minute of  the start of the second half,Bangladesh bounced  back to level the score. 

Team Nepal did have a host of scoring opportunities to  surge back to take the lead, however,poor finishing and inability  to translate it into goals let them down.

When it  seemed  the game was headed to extra time, Nepal’s dream of reaching the final was shattered when midfielder Preeti Rai scored an  own goal to handover the match to the opposition, putting an end  to their run in the competition.

As Group A winners Nepal  had advanced  to the last four. They won both their matches against Bhutan 1-0 and Sri Lanka 2-0.

The goal scorer for  the team was Gita Rana who  found the net twice. Rashmi Ghising and Renuka Nagarkote each scored a goal.

Star  striker and the team’s highest goal scorer Sabitra Bhandari aka Samba currently nursing  an injury  was unable to participate in the tournament. 

The prolific goal scorer’s absence  made a big difference,impacting the team’s overall offensive play.

Nepal went into the tournament with  high expectations but lacked adequate and proper preparation to  stand a good chance to lift  the championship for the first time.

Responsible for overlooking and denying  the team  timely, necessary and meticulous   preparation was  the  All Nepal Football  Association (ANFA) that was recently suspended by the World Football Governing Body FIFA.

It may be recalled that Nepal has been runners up six times since the start of the tournament in 2010.

Despite  having to cope with the overall state of Nepal women’s football,which is far from desirable and challenging, footballers have remained unfazed and continue  to play the sport with the intent to  glorify the country internationally.

They may not have won the regional championship,but the  progress they have made over the years  has been noteworthy and remarkable. 

Without a shadow of doubt there is no dearth of talent in the country. Apart from current national players playing for different age groups, there are countless numbers of highly skilled young  budding players across the country on the rise knocking  on the selectors door.

More importantly, the present crop of players representing the country are seriously committed to prove themselves and take women’s football to new heights, internationally.

They are fast catching up with India by narrowing the gap in terms of performance and playing standards .

In South Asia  they have transformed themselves into a force to reckon with from pushovers. A good number of players are playing outside of the country for foreign clubs.

In  FIFA rankings  Nepal is 87th only behind   69th ranked India  and 25 places  above Bangladesh sitting at 112th.

Having won the championship six times, India has been the  most dominant team. Bangladesh has won twice and finished  second twice.

With the latest setback,Nepal’s wait for winning the tournament has further prolonged. The waiting period can get cut short if the responsible party undertakes radical  measures to  address the issues obstructing the smooth progress of women’s football and change things around .  

It is crystal clear that  women’s football needs to be prioritized and fully supported  by ANFA in terms of finance,infrastructural development ,international exposure and  a strong domestic football.