Lalitpur, May 26

All Nepal Football Association is organising the Lalit Memorial U-18 Football Tournament here at ANFA Complex from May 27 to June 12.

The tournament will also serve as the selection tournament for the AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers to be held in Kyrgyz Republic, informed ANFA Chief Executive Officer Indra Man Tuladhar at a press meet today.

Tuladhar said that a total of 16 youth teams from A division outfits are taking part in the tournament which is being organised in memory of ANFA Acting President and Ruslan Three Star Club President Lalit Krishna Shrestha, who passed away of electrocution in 2015.

Rum Pum Jhapa-XI FC, Nepal APF Club, Saraswoti Youth Club and Chyasal Youth Club are pitted in Group A, while Tribhuvan Army Club, Friends Club, Laxmi Hyundai Manang Marshyangdi Club and Far-west FC are in Group B. Likewise, Jagadamba Lumbini FC, Himalayan Sherpa Club and New Road Team are in Group C, while CMG Club Sankata, Nepal Police Club, Brigade Boys Club and Morang Football Club are pitted in Group D.

The inaugural match will be played between Jhapa-XI and Chyasal Youth Club, while TAC will meet Far-west in the second match. The contest will be played under league-cum-knockout format with top two teams from all groups making it to the quarter-finals.

Tuladhar informed that the winners and the runners-up of the youth tournament will get Rs 300,000 and Rs 150,000 respectively, while the best goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, forward and coach will get Rs 10,000 each. The estimated budget of the tournament is Rs 2.67 million.

Although the tournament is being organised in memory of the then Three Star President Shrestha, the Lalitpur-based club is not taking part in the tournament. “We had invited them to participate in the tournament and the officials were also positive. But they opted out of the tournament,” said Tuladhar.

Three Star have decided to stay away from football-related activities since the club was snubbed from taking part in the AFC Cup 2017 due to ANFA’s negligence in November last year. Three Star have demanded the compensation of Rs 60 million from the ANFA after the football governing body missed the deadline to register the Lalitpur-based team in the second round of the 2017 AFC Cup despite the Asian Football Confederation sending four reminders. Three Star had qualified for the second round of the inaugural tournament after finishing as the group winners in Mongolia in August.