During the draw for the AFC Challenge Cup finals made at Soaltee Crowne Plaza, Kathmandu, on Thursday, Nepal was drawn with Turkmenistan, the Maldives and Palestine in Group A. Nepal will take on the Maldives on March 10 and Turkmenistan two days later. [break]
In the fourth edition of the tournament, Nepal has avoided all three previous winners -- 2006 winner Tajikistan, 2008 winner India and defending champion DPR Korea, which have been drawn in Group B along with the Philippines.
The top two teams from each group will advance into the semifinals. The tournament winner will qualify for the final round of AFC Asian Cup 2015.
The draw was officiated by Shin Man Gil, the national team competition director of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Nepal has the highest FIFA ranking among the teams in Group A. Nepal is ranked 143, Turkmenistan 147, the Maldives 166 and Palestine 164.
The host nation qualified for the finals as the runner-up of Group D. This is the second time that Nepal has made it to the final round of the tournament. Nepal had crashed out from the semifinals of the first edition held in 2006.
Turkmenistan, the runner-up of the previous edition, qualified as the runner-up of Group B. Palestine is a quarterfinalist of the 2006 edition and qualified as the winner of Group A. Meanwhile, the Maldives is making its debut in the final round of the tournament.
DPR Korea, the defending champion and a semifinalist in 2008, qualified as the winner of Group D. Korea had also participated in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It secured place in the final round as winner of group B. The Philippines, which had competed in the first edition, qualified for the final round as Group A runner-up.
During the draw, Nepal was designated position A1 in Group A as the host and DPR Korea was placed in Group B as B1 on the basis of rankings from AFC Challenge Cup 2010. Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, India, the Maldives, Palestine and the Philippines were given third to eighth rankings respectively. Nepal was originally in the sixth position on the basis of 2010 Challenge Cup rankings.
The draw started with the teams ranked seventh and eighth. The first ball drawn from the pot was placed in Group A and the other in Group B. The same method was applied to teams ranking fifth and sixth, third and fourth.
Speaking during the function, Minister for Youth and Sports Kamala Rokka said that the successful hosting of the tournament would be a matter of national pride and the government and MoYS would provide all kinds of support to host it successfully. National Sports Council (NSC) Member Secretary Yuvaraj Lama said that NSC was ready to join hands for making the tournament a grand success.
Ganesh Thapa, the president of All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) and the tournament organizing committee, said it was the responsibility of everyone to make the tournament a success. "We need help from all sectors to make this tournament successful and we thank all institutions and persons for their help so far."
Thapa also informed that he had invited FIFA President Sepp Blatter and General Secretary Jerome Valcke and AFC acting chief Zhang Jilong during the tournament and they have responded positively.
Group A
Nepal
Turkmenistan
Maldives
Palestine
Group B
DPR Korea
India
Tajikistan
Philippines
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