"We firmly stick to the promise we made during the last edition of the tournament in India," ANFA President Ganesh Thapa said during a function to bid farewell to the team. In the last edition, Thapa had declared an apartment to each member of the national team if they won the SAFF Championship. But Nepal crashed out in the semifinal against Afghanistan. [break]
"You just win the championship; we will reward you with something so big that no player has received in the past," said Thapa. The national team has not won any title during Thapa´s 18 years at the helm of ANFA.
"Despite limited resources we have been performing well for a long time, but we have failed to win titles. But the current team is a strong contender. We have defeated all the teams of the region in the past," Thapa said.
The Nepali team that left for Bahrain on Sunday includes all but two players -- defender Rohit Chand and forward Bharat Khawas -- of the 25-member national squad announced on Saturday. The team is accompanied by coach Jack Stefanowski, assistant coach Richard Orlowski, head of the delegation and ANFA Vice-president Lalit Krishna Shrestha, and Technical Director Krishna Bahadur Thapa.
According to Shrestha, Chand and Khawas will join the team in the Gulf. Khawas in undergoing second lieutenant training of the Nepal Army while Chand is playing professional football in Indonesia. "We are in constant touch with the Nepal Army and the Indonesian club for the release of Khawas and Chand. The duo will join the team in the Gulf nations," said Shrestha.
The national team is scheduled to play a friendly match with Bahrain´s U-23 team on August 14 while the next match will be fixed later, Thapa said. "The team will stay in Bahrain for 10 days and then leave for Kuwait. It will play two to three matches with teams of Kuwait," said Thapa. He, however, did not say whether Nepal would play against Kuwait´s national team or clubs.
National Sports Council Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama opined that expectations were high following the U-16 team´s run to the final in the recently concluded SAFF U-16 Championship. "Nepal has been putting up a good performance in every tournament. Not only ANFA but the whole nation has felt the necessity of winning the championship," Lama said.
Lama also pointed out the lack of consistency in the team´s performance. "We are hopeful that the problem will be solved under the foreign coaches." Lama, however, did not forget to make a satirical comment on the national players´ notorious night life. "President Thapa and I will join you for the whole night, until three in the morning, if you win the championship."
National team coach Stefanowski opined that the tour was a fantastic opportunity for the national team. Asked about Nepal´s group that also includes defending champion and five-time champion India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the Polish coach termed the group as very challenging. "We should be positive and try to win every match." Stefanowski said the final list of 20 players will be named after the team returns home.
Nepal´s skipper Sagar Thapa said that his side is determined to win the title. "We see the trophy everywhere and we have taken the championship on home turf as a challenge rather than feeling pressure."
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