Nepal will compete in the 12th Futsal World Championship to be held in Misiones, Argentina, from March 31 to April 7, Nepal Futsal Association (NFA) announced on Monday.

According to NFA General Secretary Batu Krishna Thapa, Nepal got wild card entry for the 16-team tournament along with Pakistan to represent Asia. NFA is registered at the National Sports Council (NSC) but does not have any affiliation with the international football governing body FIFA and apex football body of the country All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) as it has separate international football governing body Asociacion Mundial de Futsal (AMF).

“We do not require affiliations with ANFA and FIFA as it has separate football governing body based in Paraguay. The playing rules are also different in AMF,” said Santosh Parajuli. The 16 teams will be divided into four groups of four and the winners and runners-up from each group will make to the quarter-finals.

To select the national team, NFA has announced open selection on February 8 at the NSC Covered hall in Tripureshwor. “We already have a 12-member national team. But we are holding a selection programme with a view to provide equal opportunity to other talented players,” said Thapa who added that the current national team players also need to showcase their skills in the selection.

Thapa informed that NFA had obtained full membership of the AMF last year in December. Thapa said they have already played numerous futsal tournaments at international level after it was formed in 2016. According to Thapa, Nepal finished runners-up in the third South Asian Futsal Championships in Sri Lanka in 2016. The tournament featured Nepal, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Maldives. Nepali team also participated in an

international tournament last year in Pakistan where teams from Brazil and Turkey also featured.

“We have been giving priority to compete at international events to give exposures to our players,” said Parajuli adding that the World Championship will feature teams from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Catalonia, France, Italy, Nepal, Paraguay, Russia, South Africa, Uruguay, Pakistan and Colombia among others. The NFA has 15 district associations including Kathmandu chapter.

The participating teams in Argentina will have to bear travel expenses on their own while AMF will take responsibility of them all while in Argentina. “We will seek support from NSC, Ministry of Youth and Sports as well as mobilize our own resources to raise the money,” said Thapa.