The final round of Challenge Cup, the greatest football tournament ever being hosted by Nepal, will be held at the Dasharath Stadium and APF ground, Halchowk. [break]
Chinese ambassador to Nepal Yang Houlan exchanged a memorandum of understanding with Sushil Ghimire, the secretary of Ministry for Youth and Sports (MoYS) after nearly a month-long maintenance work.
According to Narayan Khatiwada, a ministry official, the Chinese government provided a grant of Rs 50 million for maintenance work and equipment. The Chinese government repaired sound system, floodlights and scoreboard at the Dasharath Stadium. Similarly, it also handed over 500 kb generator.
Meanwhile, ANFA has hiked the ticket price for Challenge Cup. The ticket of VIP parapet would be sold for Rs 1000. Similarly, the ticket for ordinary parapet would cost Rs 300. The tickets for the match will be available at Tripureshwar, Thapathali and Sundhara (Kathmandu Metropolitan Gate) on the day of the match.
"The hike in price of ticket is not very high as it is the biggest international tournament being hosted by Nepal," said Ganesh Thapa, ANFA president.
Similarly, ANFA has decided to hold last four matches -- including two semifinals, final and third place matches -- in Dasharath Stadium. The first semifinal will begin at 14:30 and second at 18:30. The second semifinal and final match will be played under flood light.
Two matches will be held each day during group stage. The first match will be held at Halchowk ground at 15:00 and second match at Dasharath Stadium at 17:00. The second match will be held under floodlight.
Nepal and India will play their entire group stage match at Dasharath Stadium.
Speaking on the occasion, ANFA President Thapa said the total estimated cost of the event was Rs 68.5 million. "AFC will bear only accommodation expenses of the teams while ANFA will bear other expenses. We have received Rs 10 million in support from the government of Nepal for the event."
Citing to security reasons, ANFA has decided to sale 3,000 tickets less than the actual capacity of ordinary parapet. "Though the capacity of ordinary parapet is 16,000 we will sell only 15,000 tickets," Thapa said. The capacity of VIP parapet according to Thapa is 1,800.
Meanwhile, ANFA General Secretary Dhirendra Pradhan informed that teams from India, Tajikistan, and Philippines have already arrived in Nepal while Maldives, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Palestine will arrive by Tuesday evening. ANFA has arranged four different grounds -- Police Headquarters Naxal ground, Buddhi Bikas Ground, ANFA Complex ground and ANFA Technical ground -- for the training of participating teams.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will look after the management of tournament and the officials have already arrived in Nepal.
The tournament will feature eight teams Asia. Group A consist of Nepal, Turkmenistan, Maldives and Palestine and group B includes DPR Korea, India, Tajikistan and Philippines.
VIPS during inauguration
The inauguration ceremony will be attended by VIPs Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, FIFA President Joseph Sepp Blatter, AFC Acting President Zhang Jilong and top political leaders, among others. Blatter is scheduled to inaugurate the tournament at the Dasharath Stadium.
Blatter who is scheduled to arrive in Nepal on Thursday will meet President Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister Bhattarai on Friday. He will also inspect ANFA Headquarters, Satdobato and inaugurate Goal Football project, a project for the development youth football. Nepal selected for the project will be granted $ 400,000. Blatter will leave Nepal on Friday.
Campaign for women´s empowerment
The Social Responsibility Department (SRD) of the Asian Football Confederation, Saathi, and ANFA will launch a campaign for women´s empowerment during the AFC Challenge Cup. SRD has joined hands with ANFA and Saathi, a non-governmental organization for the purpose.
Banners with the message "Our Goal: Stop violence against women" will be displayed at the both the stadiums, said Mathilde Forslund, the advocacy manager of SRD of AFC.
"Fair play is not only necessary in football but also in family as well as community and we aim to advocate this through football," Forslund said.
Similarly, children staying at Saathi will play football match against children from Voice of Children on Friday under presence of Fifa President Joseph Sepp Blatter.
Related story
KoKo Bop challenge Trending
