Nepal Women’s team seeking maiden SAFF Championship title

 

South Asia‘s  premier women  football tourney, the South Asian Federation Football Championship is all set to unwrap  on October 17th in Kathmandu.

The tournament  held every two years returns to the Himalayan kingdom for the third straight time.It may be recalled that Nepal had hosted the competition in 2019 and 2022.

The championship is  being  contested by the seven national  teams of South Asia, Nepal,India,Bangladesh,Bhutan,Pakistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka.

India,Nepal and Bangladesh are the top three FIFA ranked teams.Five times winners of the South Asian Federation Football Championship (SAFFC)India is  68th in  world rankings and  the highest ranked team in the tournament.

Followed by Nepal and Bangladesh  ranked 99 and 139  respectively. The three teams are top contenders for the title yet again.

The league cum knockout championship features India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in one group, while  the other group consists of hosts Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.

The tournament gets underway with the inaugural fixture between India and Pakistan on October 17th

Home team Nepal starts their campaign against Bhutan on Thursday(October 18th).

India have been the most dominant team in the tournament.However,they faced an unexpected setback in the 2022 edition failing to qualify for the final.

Definitely this time they will be looking to bounce back with hopes of  reclaiming their SAFFC dominance.

They, however, cannot take their success for granted.They have to be at their very best and put together a dominant performance to come out triumphant.

They start  the tournament  as the overwhelming favorites and the outfit  to beat once again.

Undoubtedly both Nepal and Bangladesh have  closed the gap on India when it  comes  to performance,competitiveness and making inroads into the game.

In the previous edition both Bangladesh and Nepal succeeded in breaking India’s shackles for the first time in the tournament's history.

Bangladesh registered a comprehensive 3-0 win in the group stage, and Nepal eked out a 1-0 victory  in the semifinals.

They have to display consistency, aggression,solid teamwork and go full throttle,leaving no stone unturned to give India a run for their money.

Given Bangladesh’s  recent performances and results in different age groups regional competitions,they have improved significantly.

They swept the annual and biannual regional youth and senior SAFF competitions  and have  remained unbeaten.

In the 2022 SAFFC they wrote history by winning their first championship.They are eyeing a second title for sure. 

They will require a strong  performance from start to finish  to the defense of their title.There is virtually no room for complacency whatsoever.

Nepal is still without a championship belt. A record  five times they have finished in second place.

 

In the sixth edition of  the competition they raised hopes of ending the championship drought,following their semifinal win(the first ever) over India.

That did not transpire as they were outperformed by Bangladesh in the final.

Having finished runners up in the last two editions,let’s hope that the third time’s a charm for Team Nepal.

Over the last two years the national team has played in numerous tournaments, AFC  Olympic Qualifiers,Asian Games and WAFF Women’s Championship, including friendly matches.

The team's cohesion and dynamics ought to have improved.To add, the players did get the much needed playing time.

Prolific goal scorer Sabitra Bhandari  who plays for French A division side  En Avant Guingamp spearheads the team attack. She has to be at the top of her game and live up to her  goal scoring reputation. 

Abu Dhabi Country Club player Rekha Paudel,known for her scoring ability must find her scoring touch. 

The  duo’s form  is critical and expected to play a pivotal role for the success of the team. 

Another player to watch is  team skipper   and custodian Anjila Tumbapo Subba who is on the verge of signing for  a Greek Club.

Her leadership responsibilities will play a big part  in motivating and inspiring players to get them going throughout the competition.

The team is deep in talent no doubt.It’s a blend of experienced and promising young players.

This is yet another big  chance for them to rise to greatness and deliver the desired result.

 

They have to take their performance to the next level and make the most of the opportunity by cashing in on the home advantage. 

 

What they need is,confidence, commitment,consistency,positive mind set  and competitiveness,coupled with  individual brilliance and collective effort.

It is imperative that they get off to a winning start against Bhutan to build  early momentum and confidence.Given their clear edge over the opposition they have everything to lose going into the game.

The players  deserve applause for their efforts,dedication,sacrifice and determination to play the sport and 

 bring  glory  to  the country  despite the sorry state of women football in the country.

Women football development remains  underfunded and continues to move at a snail’s pace. It implies that it is not  a  priority for All Nepal Football Association.

As a result,our women  national teams in all age groups are  lagging far behind the rest of the world in terms of development.

It will be interesting to  see what kind of progression and growth Pakistan,Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan have made. They might not pose a threat but they cannot be taken  lightly. 

Playing conditions of the field in Dasarath stadium, the venue for the tournament will be under the scanner again.

It’s hoped that the pitch is playable,does not pose an injury risk to players and impact the quality of play.