Kathmandu, November 15

Suman Bhomjan Memorial Sports Foundation is organising the third Tuborg Hetauda International Invitational Gold Cup Football Tournament in Makawanpur from December 23-30.

A total of eight teams will take part in the tournament being organised by the Foundation in memory of sports journalist Suman Bhomjan, who was killed in the devastating earthquake that struck Nepal in 2015, informed tournament coordinator Bishal Ghosh at a press meet today.

“We will have six ‘A’ division clubs along with a local side and a foreign team most probably from India or Bhutan,” said Ghosh. “We want to have a strong team from across the boarder instead of inviting two or three weaker teams,” he added.

Apart from the football tournament, the foundation has been organising sports festival and this year it has planned to hold ‘Shine The Future’ programme, a friendly football for school children to raise social awareness among the children, women and youth of the region. “We believe the event will be helpful in raising awareness about social responsibility,” said Ghosh. “We are also organising one-day training for local sports journalists to uplift their skills under our social responsibility,” he added.

The winners of the tournament will be richer by Rs 500,000, while the runners-up will take home Rs 300,000. The best player of the tournament will receive Rs 25,000, while the Fair Play award carries a cash prize of Rs 10,000. The man-of-the-match in every game will earn Rs 5,000. Gorkha Brewery’s Tuborg and Red Bull are the main sponsors of the tournament, while Tata Sumo Gold is the co-sponsor.

Mahesh Acharya, President of Nepal Sports Journalists Forum, the patron of the Foundation, remembered Bhomjan as a hard-working and friendly person. “We worked closely for a couple of years before the devastating earthquake took him away from us,” said Acharya. “Now it’s time to pay back and we all should support the foundation which is trying to contribute in Nepali sports through various activities,” he added.

President of the Foundation, Bhesh Khadki said the organisers needed the support of all to make the event a grand success. “We organised two editions of the tournament apart from other activities in memory of Suman Bhomjan and we will be conducting various activities to make his name immortal,” said Khadki. “Bhomjan was very close to us and he always wanted to contribute in the development of sports. After his tragic death, the responsibility has come to our shoulder and we will not leave any stone unturned for the cause.”