Lalitpur, January 9:

The League Organising and Football Management Committee (LOFMC) on Friday announced the Martyrs Memorial ‘A’ Division League Football from April 4 at the Dasharath Stadium.

The league, which is being held after the gap of almost two years due to the row between the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) and Nepal Football Association (NFA), will be inaugurated on April 4 and the matches would be held from April 18 on regular basis, said the organisers at a press meet here at the ANFA Complex today.

The 12 clubs in the top flight will take part in the double-leg league. The committee is also organising the knock out tournament for the ‘A’ Division clubs before the league from February 21 to March 2, also at the Dasharath Stadium.

“To synchronise with the international events, the committee is following the English calendar

from this time,” said Indra Man Tuladhar, joint convenor of the LOFMC.

A separate committee under Tuladhar has been formed to prepare the tournament rules and regulations and the players registration conditions. Lalit Krishna Shrestha, Kumar Jung Thapa, Chhiring Lopsang and Sunil Kapali are the members in the committee.

Regarding the participation in the AFC President’s Cup, Tuladhar said the clubs and the FAs were working out to find the alternatives. “As the league will not be finished by that time, we are discussing the possible ways to represent in the tournament,” he said. National league champions participate in the tournament.

The committee will also make necessary arrangements to prepare the teams for the international participations in 2009 — AFC Challenge Cup (March), AFC U-16 Tournament (October), AFC U-19 Tournament (November), Asian Youth U-17 Tournament (June), AFC

U-13 Festival of Football (May) — and Prime Minister’s Invitational Tournament (March) in Kathmandu.

Tuladhar said that the revised ANFA bylaws draft was under the typing phase. “We have made the general assembly more powerful than the executive committee and have given equal status to the districts and the Kathmandu clubs,” said Tuladhar. Tuladhar declared that the ANFA election would be held by mid-September. “We have already asked the executive committee to announce the election dates,” he said.

NFA President Bijay Narayan Manandhar, ANFA vice presidents Lalit Krishna Shrestha and Kumar Jung Thapa, ANFA joint secretary Dhirendra Pradhan, ANFA treasurer Biraj Jung Shahi among others were also present on the occasion.