C Division League kicks off today

Lalitpur, August 30:

The Western Union Martyrs Memorial ‘C’ Division League Football will kick off here at the Dasharath Stadium from tomorrow.

All Nepal Football Association (ANFA), the organisers, released the first round draw of the 15-team league today. The teams have been divided into three groups under the mutual understanding of the participating teams after Annapurna Club opted out of the league, said ANFA at a press meet today.

Top two teams from each of the three groups will advance for the Super Six League while the bottom three clubs from each group along with Annapurna will be relegated, said ANFA. The winner and runner up of the league will be promoted to ‘B’ Division.

Meanwhile, ANFA and Western Union Money Transfer (WUMT) signed Rs 400,000 annual sponsorship deal for ‘C’ and ‘B’ Division League on the occasion. According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), ANFA will get Rs 200,000 for both ‘C’ and ‘B’ Division League annually for the next three years. ANFA vice president Kumar Thapa and the WUMT country head Atish Krishna Shrestha signed the MoU.

The participating clubs will receive Rs 50,000 as the preparation costs, said the ANFA. The organisers also announced Rs 100,000 for the winner and Rs 50,000 for the runner up. Teams that finish third and fourth will get Rs 25,000 each. Five best individuals — forward, midfielder, defender, goalkeeper and coach — will be awarded with Rs 5,000 each.

Chakrapath Youth will take on Chyasal Youth and Garuda Sports will meet Social Youth on the opening day matches on Friday.