Bangabandhu Gold Cup-winning national team coach Bal Gopal Maharjan has landed a coaching job with top flight Bangladeshi club Brothers Union.

The recruitment makes Maharjan Nepal’s first ever Nepali to get a top coaching job on foreign soil. Maharjan, who had plied trade as a professional player at the club from 2001 to 2003, will earn $1,500 a month.

“Its a matter of pride for me and my country. I have been offered a contract for the current season but we have initially signed a three-month deal,” Maharjan told a press conference on Wednesday. Maharjan leaves for Dhaka on Thursday to take over the club’s reins.

Maharjan’s links with the club as a professional player and Nepal’s recent success in the international arena on his watch are the key factors that   

“The reasons behind appointing Maharjan are: he is a former player of Brothers Union, Nepalese football teams have improved a lot under his coaching. And he can speak Bengali which will help communicate with the players,” leading Bangladeshi newspaper Daily Star quoted Union’s Director-in-Charge Mohinuddin Ahmed Mohi on Tuesday.

Maharjan helped Nepal break their 23-year international title drought, guiding the team to Bangabandhu Gold Cup triumph on January 22. He had also led Nepali sides to the inaugural Saff U-19 Championship title last year and to AFC U-16 Championship Finals in 2014. The majority of players from the national teams that won the Bangabandhu Gold Cup and 12th South Asian Games are Maharjan’s products.

The 41-year-old Nepali coach believes there is a huge challenge in front of him. “I will try to improve the standings of Brothers Union in the league,” said Maharjan. Union finished fifth in the Bangladeshi Premier League last season. “Its not easy but I have to give my best.”

Maharjan’s first assignment with the club will be the Federation Cup which kicks off on June 10. He hopes his appointment can benefit other Nepali football professionals. “This can open up opportunities for other Nepali coaches and if possible our players can compete there too,” he added.

Maharjan’s appointment in Union comes at a time when the country’s football governing body has been spending thousands of dollars in hiring international coaches, but without much success. While Maharjan ended Nepal’s two-decade title drought, another home-grown coach Raju Kaji Shakya led Nepal to the 12th South Asian Games gold in February—an achievement that came after their previous title victory in 1993.