Two departmental teams APF and Nepal Police Club will compete for the title of the first Lumbini Cup Invitational Women's Football Tournament. The final is being held at Nepalgunj Stadium on Friday.
Before the final, in the prematch conference on Thursday, the captain and coach of both teams have claimed that their team deserves the title. Police coach Suman Subedi said that there are a lot of national team players in APF and they are ready to win the title. Most of the opposition players have experience playing for the national team, APF is a strong team. We will also play to win the title,' he said, 'We will play by making a strategy to win.' APF is a strong team. But we will try our best to win the title.''
No team has been able to defeat APF since 2079. Police, who became champions at that time, have also been without a title since then. APF has won the women's league twice. The team also recently lifted the Elam and Chitwan Gold Cup titles.
In the Lumbini Cup, Police beat India's Siliguri FC 4-0 in the first match and Tribhuvan Army Club in sudden death in the semi-finals.
Since then, APF has defeated Karnali Pradesh Football Association 6-0 in the first match and Rautahat 3-0 in the semi-final to reach the final. APF coach Bhagwati Thapa said that although the match against Rautahat was challenging for them, they are ready to face Police in the final. The weather here has also made it difficult for us. We will enter the finals by improving our weaknesses,' said coach Thapa, 'No competitive team can be considered weak. But the game is played to win.'
APF captain Anita Basnet also said that she will play to win the title. "We are trying to bring in the Lumbini Cup title as the first title of 2082 in APF, which won three titles in a row last year," said Anita, "Police is not a new competitor for us. That's why we don't give up the chance to score, we don't give the police the chance to score.' Earlier, APF defeated Police in the final of the National Women's League. APF won the title by defeating the Army in Ilam and Chitwan.
organized by Interal in collaboration with Banke District Football Association, the winner will receive a prize of Rs 555,555 and the runner-up will receive a prize of Rs 250,000. The best player in the category will also be awarded.
