POKHARA, August 21: The head coach of Nepal’s national football team, Abdhulla Al Mutairi has claimed that the team is set to write a new history in the upcoming SAFF Championship which will be held in the Maldives. He said that the goal of the team will be to make it to the final and make a new history.  

“We are going to create history. Our goal is to reach the final at all costs,” he said. The national team is currently undergoing training in Pokhara and will return to the capital in a few days. A friendly match has been organized against India. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and India have already won the championship title. However, Nepal has not been able to advance through the semi-finals since 1993. 

“We will focus on the final step by step. We must first know who we are. We are not just Nepalis but are Gorkahlis as well. We will fight every minute and every second to reach our goal,” coach Mutairi said. “There is a need to represent ourselves as Gorkhalis in our mindset while entering the field.” He said that he may live in Pokhara with his wife after his retirement from the national team. “Everyone here has supported me very much and I am very happy when I am here,” he said. 

The national football team received a warm welcome in Pokhara on Saturday. Newly-appointed Vice-president of Gandaki Province Sports Council was also congratulated alongside the national football team. 

Toran Baniya, Vice-president of the District Sports Development Committee, stressed the need for sports organizations to work with ownership and responsibility for sports. Also, Rs 50 million has been allocated to install flood lights at Pokhara Stadium.

 
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