Kathmandu, February 12

Satdobato Youth Club will face Nepal Police Club in the opening match of the KP Oli Cup National Football Championship at the ANFA Complex grounds on February 23.

A total of eight teams - Satdobato Youth Club, Nepal Police Club, Tribhuvan Army Football Club, New Road Team, Church Boys Club, Machhindra Football Club, Jawalakhel Youth Club and KP Oli Football Club - will take part in the seven-day knock out tournament organised by the CPN-UML-affiliated National Youth Federation.

As per the draw held today, two matches - Tribhuvan Army FC vs NRT and Church Boys vs Machhindra FC - will be played on February 24. Jawalakhel Youth Club will play against hosts KP Oli FC in the last match of the first round on February 25.

The winning teams will advance to the semi-finals, slated for February 26 and February 27. While the first round and semi-final matches will be held at the ANFA Complex grounds, the final match will be played under lights at the Dasharath Stadium on March 1.

National Youth Federation President Kiran Poudel said the KP Oli FC was registered with Office of the Company Registrar.

'We have decided to take the club as non-profit organisation and we have a vision of taking it to a new height,' Poudel said. He also said the players and coach Meghraj KC were hired for the tournament. 'Coach Meghraj KC selected the players from among 200 footballers and formed a team for the tournament.

For now, we have signed the players for short term. But we will come up with concrete plans after a round of discussions with our team,' he added.

The winners of the championship will get one million rupees, while the runners-up will get Rs 500,000. The best player of the tournament will get Rs 100,000, while the best goalkeeper, highest scorer and emerging player will receive Rs 50,000 each. The teams will also get Rs 25,000 as winning bonus, while the player of the match will receive Rs 15,000. The All Nepal Football Association has already included the event in its programme and is also providing the organisers with technical support.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 13, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.