Nepal will aim to win the trophy of the SAFF U-20 Championship for a third time when they begin their campaign of the biennial competition against Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Nepal are drawn alongside Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Group A. Group B consists of three-time champions and holders India, the Maldives and Bhutan.

The group stage matches will be held at the ANFA Complex in Satdobato due to poor condition of Dasharath Stadium’s pitch.

All Nepal Football Association had decided to move the group matches to Satdobato citing “unprepared pitch at the Dasharath Stadium”. The decision came after SAFF match commissioner Abdul Hameed Abdul Ghafoor, after an inspection, deemed the Dasharath Stadium unfit to host matches.

The poor management of pitch of the country’s only international-standard football stadium drew public criticism on Tuesday when Japanese football icon Keisuke Honda’s Paro FC and Martyrs Memorial A-Division League champions Church Boys United played their AFC Challenge League qualification playoff match in a muddy and puddled pitch, following an afternoon rainfall.

ANFA has said that the semi-finals and final will be held back at the Dasharath Stadium’s ground, which is undergoing renovation.

Nepal coach Urjan Shrestha said he aims to keep the trophy at home.

“We have prepared well. We played practice matches against A-Division League champions Church Boys United and Tribhuvan Army Club. We will take full advantage of the home ground and try to win the trophy,” said Shrestha.

However, Nepal will face a tough challenge from their closest rivals India, who have dominated the competition for the last five years, winning the trophy for the third consecutive time [2019 (SAFF U-18), 2022 (SAFF U-20), 2023 (SAFF U-19)].

Nepal won the first edition defeating India in the final in 2015 (SAFF U-19) at home and defended the title in 2017 (SAFF U-18) in Bhutan.

Only Nepal and India have won the SAFF Championship since its inception.

India coach Ranjan Chaudhary said they are also aiming to defend the title for a third straight edition.

“We are the defending champions and will play the game likewise. But we are focused on our first match,” said Chaudhary, who will open their defense of the title against Bhutan on Monday.

Three-time runners up Bangladesh will also aim to dislodge India’s stranglehold and win their first trophy.