ANFA President Ganesh Thapa made such remarks at the Dasharath Stadium during a press conference organized to inform about the preparations for the event. “We have hopes similar to the Nepali fans who expect the Nepali team to lift the championship,” said Thapa.
“We have made the preparations accordingly as the national team trained under a foreign coach. We also went on a three-week Gulf tour to prepare for the event,” said Thapa, adding, that the team had inched very close to the title in the past as wee despite loss in group A along with Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. The inaugural match will see Nepal locking horns with Bangladesh. The top two teams from both the groups will secure semifinal position after single round robin league. [break]
ANFA pledges handsome reward
ANFA has reiterated that it will provide one apartment and a life-long allowance of Rs 10,000 each to all members of the squad if the team wins SAFF Championship. Thapa had made a similar announcement in the last edition.
Fans urged to exercise restraint
ANFA has urged the Nepali football fans to maintain peace and exercise restraint during the tournament. In some of the previous international tournaments, Nepali fans have resorted to unsporting behavior hurling objects at the opponents and match officials.
As the stadium is expected to be jam-packed in all matches, Thapa asked supporters of the Nepali team to maintain their cool. “It is a prestige issue for ANFA to host the tournament successfully,” said Thapa, adding, “Nepal may not get the opportunity to host international tournaments in future if the fans resort to hooliganism.”
ANFA has also urged the political parties and other groups not to call any strikes during the tournament. “We request the political parties not to call strikes as this would tarnish Nepal´s reputation at the international level,” said Thapa.
Expected cost Rs 54.21 million
ANFA has said that the expected cost of the tournament is Rs 54.21 million. According to ANFA General Secretary Dhirendra Pradhan, the government has provided Rs 6 million and South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) $ 400,000 to host the tournament. Meanwhile, SAFF also provides $ 25,000 to all participating teams.
According to Pradhan, ANFA would have to arrange accommodation and local transportation for participating teams and allowances, accommodation and transportation for match officials. The participating teams are lodged at the Everest Hotel and Grand Hotel while match officials have been lodged at Hotel Himalaya.
Meanwhile, ANFA has fixed the ticket rate for closed parapet at Rs 700 and Rs 300 for open parapet.
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