Coach Neupane believes that despite any uncertainty and confusion, preparations for the competition must be well-organized.
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The draw for the SAFF Women's Championship football to be held in India in a month's time was released on Wednesday. It can be easily said that Nepal will win the group and reach the semi-finals. However, this will not be Nepal's goal.
Because Nepal is a team that has been reaching the semi-finals continuously. The goal should be at least the final, to win that title. If it stops in the semi-finals, it will be a failure, it will not carry any meaning.
The only truth from Nepal's perspective regarding SAFF, the highest competition in South Asian women's football, is that Nepal has not been able to win this competition. Not only the SAFF Championship, but also in other competitions, the Nepali women's national football team has the same destiny, to reach the final and be defeated.
Despite this, Nepal's coach Navin Neupane feels that Nepal has every chance of winning the title in the competition.
The draw for the competition was made during a special program organized by the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) in Bangladesh. Nepal has been placed in Group 'A'. A total of 6 teams will participate in the competition. That means Pakistan will not play this time. The tournament is being held in Goa, India from May 25 to June 6, so Pakistan's absence will have a special meaning. Nepal's group includes Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
Nepal will face Bhutan in its first match on May 25. It will then play Sri Lanka in a match on May 31. The other group 'B' has defending champions Bangladesh, hosts India and Maldives. At the end of the league stage, the top two teams from both groups will advance to the semi-finals. If Nepal is expected to easily reach the semi-finals, the opponent team will be either Bangladesh or India. Both these teams will also aim to win the match against Nepal.
The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), which is under suspension from the National Sports Council, has just released the preliminary player list. Coach Neupane believes that despite all the uncertainty and confusion, preparations for the tournament should be well-organized. Participation alone will not mean anything for participation. He believes that Nepal's goal should be to win the title, and that is possible. He has prepared the current preliminary list based on the last few tournaments.
He will start training from next week. He says, ‘I think there will be no problem with the players’ fitness, because they have been playing continuously. Due to injuries, Savitra Bhandari and Savita Rana Magar will not be in the team. This is also an opportunity for other players. I think some players can take their place. This will require hard work.’ He is excited about participating in the tournament.
This is the eighth edition of the tournament. Nepal has also been the runner-up in the last two editions. Both the last editions were held in Kathmandu. On both occasions, Nepal lost to Bangladesh in the final. In both these editions, Nepal faced Bhutan and Sri Lanka in the league stage. Nepal has reached the final in every edition out of the seven editions except 2016, but has failed to win the title so far. Nepal has reached at least the semi-finals in all the previous editions.
