Both the teams are already in Pokhara for the tournament organized by the Kaski District Football Association. The opener would be the first encounter between the two Lalitpur-based teams in six months. Their last meeting was during the British Gurkha Cup in Kathmandu and Jawalakhel had defeated Friends 1-0.[break]
Coaches of both the teams said their teams are yet to set because of the long Dashain vacation. However, both the coaches claimed that they would win the opener. "I´ll not say the team is fully prepared for the tournament. However, our team has been training together for the last four months, except during the Dashain vacation. We hope for good results," said Jawalakhel coach Raj Kumar KC.
"We were planning to include two foreign players in the team for the Safal Pokhara Cup. However, we failed to get their work permits on time. Therefore, we are playing this tournament with all Nepali players," he added. KC also claimed that his team has experienced players and would produce good results in Pokhara.
Friends Club coach Meghraj KC also said that his team is not well-prepared because there were no big tournaments after the British Gurkha Cup. "We have a tendency of preparing the team when there is a tournament. Moreover, clubs are not involved in producing their own players. In this condition, the gap between two tournaments always creates problems in preparing a team," said KC.
"Most of our players are from outside the Kathmandu Valley and we have started the training sessions only after Dashain," said KC. "However, I expect good performances from the team as we have players with national team experience. Meanwhile, some of the players were also playing in some local tournaments in their home town," he added. Friends Club has three players from Pokhara -- Bishnu KC, Anil Ojha and Sushil Lama -- and two foreign players.
Seven A division teams, the national U-16 team, three foreign teams and a local team of Pokhara are participating in the tournament that will conclude on November 2.
The winner of the tournament will receive Rs 355,000 and the runner-up will get Rs 201,000.
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