Lalitpur, December 8, 2016: Nepal will fine tune their preparations for the upcoming fourth Saff Women’s Championship with a friendly match against Malaysia on December 17.
The Saff Women’s Championship is kicking off in Siliguri, India from December 26 to January 4 where Nepal will lock horns with Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan in Group ‘A’ at the Kanchenjunga Stadium. The friendly match will be played at the Anfa Complex. The Malaysian team will arrive in Kathmandu on December 17. All Nepal Football Association (Anfa) had requested for the game with the Football Association of Malaysia.
Nepali women are currently undergoing closed-camp with the final squad yet to be announced. A final squad of 20 members is due to be announced from the 30 undergoing close-camp training. The current squad has played two friendlies against the Anfa Academy footballers so far.
Former national footballer Kumar Thapa is guiding the team for the first time with Ashmita Khawas working as an assistant coach. Nepal open their Saff Championship campaign with a match against tournament minnows Bhutan on the opening day. They next play Maldives on December 28 before wrapping up the league campaign with a clash against Sri Lanka on December 30.
Group ‘B’ consists of three-time defending champions India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Top two teams from each pool will enter the semi-finals. Nepal have reached the final in all three previous editions, losing to India on all three occasions.
