Kathmandu, January 8:

The Martyrs’ Memorial National League offers a Yamaha G5 motorcycle to the highest goal scorer and the strikers are the probable contenders to win the award as their duty is to score and only score for their teams.

The forward line players have more probability to win the motorcycle as Yamaha Motors India Pvt Ltd has announced a bike each in two categories — best striker and the highest scorer.

Apart from the highest scorer, other five individuals who can win a Yamaha G5 are goalkeeper, midfielder, defender and a coach and the winners in all these categories can only be predicted. But the player with the highest number of goals is for sure will win a motorcycle.

Last year, MMC’s Basanta Thapa won a Yamaha Libero for scoring the most number of goals — 21 in 13 matches. Thapa also leads the list with 19 goals this season, but as he is leaving for Japan, second-placed Ramesh Budhathoki comes in front with 16 goals to his credit.

The first-leg matches of the league ended on Friday and 364 goals were scored in the 105 matches. A total of 126 players scored in the first leg and 57 players have scored one goal each and 33 others have two goals each in their names. 15 players have scored seven or more goals, while seven players have reached the double-figure mark and these are the players who can be taken as the strong contenders.

Obagbemiro Junior of BBC has 13 goals to his credit. The Nigerian has become a popular figure among football fans for his skills and the experts have already rated him the best player in the league.

Tribhuvan Army Club skipper Janamat Karki and RCT’s Rishi Rai have scored 12 goals each, while TAC’s Ram Kumar Biswas and APF skipper Jibesh Pandey have 10 goals each to their credit.

Last year’s best player, Surendra Tamang of Nabil Three Star, NRT’s Yugal Kishor Rai and Sankata’s Nilendra Dewan have scored nine goals each.