In the national league to be contested by 10 teams, the top four teams will be awarded cash prizes of Rs 2.5 million, Rs 1 million, Rs 500,000 and Rs 300,000 respectively. [break]
ANFA General Secretary Dhirendra Pradhan made the announcement at a press conference organized at the ANFA headquarters in Satdobato, Lalitpur on Monday.
The winner of the single-round league to be held in Pokhara and Butwal, Rupandehi, will also qualify for the AFC President´s Cup, the inter-club international football tournament. Among the total 45 matches of the league, 22 will be held in Pokhara and the remaining 23 in Butwal.
Similarly, the best players in four different positions -- goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and forward -- and the best coach will each receive a Yamaha motorbike.
ANFA will provide Rs 200,000 each to all 10 participating teams for preparations along with accommodation and transportation facilities. The expected cost of the tournament is Rs 14 million.
"The local organizers -- Kaski District Football Association and Rupandehi District Football Association --have completed all the preparations for the league," said Pradhan.
The league will feature the top eight teams of the Martyrs Memorial A Division League that concluded on July 16 earlier this year and two teams -- Sangam Club of Pokhara and Mitramilan Club of Dharan -- that qualified from A division districts.
Responding to the queries of reporters, ANFA President Ganesh Thapa said the event is being held in single-round format due to unavailability of grounds.
"We had wanted to conduct the event in double-league format, but we were unable to do so due to unavailability of the Dasharath Stadium and grounds in the capital as we are hosting the AFC Challenge Cup finals in Kathmandu. The national team also needs to prepare for the tournament."
Speaking about the possibility of match-fixing in the league, Thapa said ANFA is in the process of making rules against fixing and setting punishment for such actions. Thapa also said that ANFA was unable to conduct the district league properly in some districts because of inadequate infrastructure and technical as well as financial constraints.
Meanwhile, Rojin Amatya, the brand-marketing manager of the main sponsor Gorkha Brewery, said that the company is optimistic that the popularity of football will grow even more by conducting the league outside the capital.
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