On December 4, a day before the inaugural SAFF Women’s Club Championship kicked off, the visiting teams spoke of a common expectation: to witness the craze of women’s football in Nepal.

Dasharath Stadium, however, is yet to witness a sold-out crowd despite the fan-favourite Armed Police Force (APF) Club representing the country. Even in the match between the two tournament favourites—APF and East Bengal FC of India—the official number of attendance at the 15,000-capacity Dasharath Stadium was 5,323.

“But we believe it will not be the case in the final,” APF’s head coach Jibesh Kumar Pandey said when asked if the team lacked a part of the home advantage—the fans’ support. “We have one last dance in the tournament, and it is the most important match. We expect that the fans will be there in this crucial moment.”

Pandey’s APF played a goalless draw with Indian champions East Bengal in the last match of the league stage on Wednesday. While it was the second draw for APF in four matches, it was the first for the visitors. Further, it was the first match for East Bengal in which they failed to score.

East Bengal, who are yet to concede a goal, had scored 13 goals—four against Transport United Ladies FC, two against Karachi City FC and seven against Nasrin Sports Academy—before facing APF.

The home side, on the other hand, managed only five goals against the same opponents. APF started the campaign with a 4-0 victory over Nasrin, but were restricted to a goalless draw by Transport United. It was followed by a hard-fought 1-0 win over Karachi.

Compared to the might of East Bengal, the goalless draw on Wednesday was something to be happy about for APF. “We came to win, so we are not happy with the result,” Pandey said after the match. “But the players performed well. And we now look forward to the final, to win it and lift the trophy.”

Pandey, however, did not rule out how good a team East Bengal was. And it was reciprocated by East Bengal’s head coach Anthony Samson Andrews. “APF is a brilliant team. I have seen up close several Nepali players in the Indian Women’s League,” Andrews said at the post-match conference. “APF is filled with national team players, so this level of match is expected.”

However, Andrews was confident that the result would be different in the final. When asked if the draw against their opponent in the final put pressure, Andrews said, “We are at the top of the table. It shows our abilities, and we are confident in ourselves.”

The match for the title of the 1st SAFF Women’s Club Championship kicks off between APF and East Bengal FC at 5pm on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Nasrin and Transport United played a 1-1 draw in the first match on Wednesday. Both teams scored their first goal in their last game of the championship. The head coaches of the two teams assured that they will return to the second edition of the championship by winning their respective top-tier league.