KATHMANDU, July 22: The Nepali youth team participating in the SAFF U-20 Men's Football Championship left for India on Friday.

The All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) bid farewell to the Nepali through a press conference organized at ANFA headquarters in Lalitpur. The team was bid farewell to participate in the SAFF U-20 championship to be held in Bhubaneswar, India. National Sports Council Member Secretary Tanklal Ghising, ANFA President Pankaj Bikram Nemwang and other ANFA officials bid farewell to the team.

The Nepali team left for India in the afternoon to participate in the weeklong tournament. Hosts India, Nepal, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are participating in the championship. Meghraj KC, the head coach of the Nepali team, has already announced a 23-member young team for the championship.

Experienced midfielder captain Ayush Ghalan will lead the team in the tournament. Similarly, forward Rohit Subba has been called to the team in place of Dipesh Rai, who was injured in the practice match with the departmental team.

Nepal will face the Maldives in the opening match of the championship. The opening match will be played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on July 25. Nepal will play against Sri Lanka in the second match on July 27. Similarly, the Nepali squad will face India on July 31 and play its last match against Bangladesh on August 2. The top two teams will compete for the title on August 5.

 
• SAFF_U20
 
• ANFA
 
• Nepali_team