Football
Bangladesh arrive for Tri-Series football
The football governing body ANFA on Thursday announced that almost all preparations for the tournament were over.Sports Bureau
Bangladesh national team arrived in Kathmandu on Thursday for the Tri-Series Football Tournament set to be held from March 23 to 29 at the Dasharath Stadium in Tripureshwar.
The tournament featuring three teams — hosts Nepal, Bangladesh and Kyrgyzstan U-23 — will be played in the round robin format. Teams finishing on top of the table will play for the title.
According to the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), Kyrgyzstan U-23 team will vie against Bangladesh in the opening match on March 23 while Nepal will take on Kyrgyzstan two days later before hosts Nepal and Bangladesh vie in the final group match on March 25. The final will be played on March 27.
The football governing body ANFA on Thursday announced that almost all preparations for the tournament were over. "We are hopeful that the tournament will help bring Nepali football back to normal following a long break due to Covid-19," ANFA spokesperson Kiran Rai told a news conference on Thursday.
According to Rai, the Kyrgyz team will land in Kathmandu on Sunday. Custodian Kiran Limbu and youth forward Abhishek Rijal, who currently play professional football from I-League sides Punjab FC and Aizwal FC respectively, would join the team.
"Nepali team were already under training for the joint qualifiers of the FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup before Nepal's home matches were shifted to a centralised venue. We will have the same team for the tournament and we are ready to go," said Rai.
ANFA is planning to sell tickets for 12,000 spectators at the 15,000-seater stadium. The ticket price has been fixed at Rs1,500 for VIP stand and Rs700 for general stand. The winners and runners-up will bag prizes of $5,000 and $3,000 while the best player would receive $500. The man-of-the-match of each game would get $250.
While the estimated cost of the tournament is Rs10million, ANFA expects to earn a revenue of Rs15 million. "Ticket sale, sponsorship amount and broadcasting rights are the main sources of income," said Rai.