Kathmandu, March 4:

Nepal ‘Blue’ will take on Sri Lanka in the inaugural match of the PM Cup Invitational Football Tournament here at the Dasharath Stadium on Thursday.

New Road Team (NRT) midfielder Basanta Gauchan will lead the Blue team and will play JW Team of Thailand in their next Group ‘A’ match on March 7. Top two teams from each of the two groups will qualify for the semi-finals.

Group ‘B’ comprises of Nepal ‘Red’ — which will be led by Nepal Police Club defender Rakesh Shrestha — Pakistani national team and Arambag Club of Bangladesh. Nepal ‘Red’ will open with a match against the Bangladeshi club on Friday.

Republican Sports Federation of Nepal is organising the March 5-15 event in technical support of All Nepal Football Association. PM Puspa Kamal Dahal is schedule to inaugurate the tournament.