Thapa made such announcement during a function organized in the capital to award cash prizes of Rs 50,000 each to members of the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers squad.[break]
Nepal has not won the SAFF Championship in the seven editions held so far. In the last edition, Nepal had reached the semifinals after 12 years in the regional football fiesta competed by all eight SAARC member countries. In the last edition too, ANFA had declared apartments to all the members of the national squad if they won the title.
On Wednesday, Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba gave away the prizes to 26 members of the national squad, including 23 players, coach Jack Stefanowski, assistant coach Richard Orlowski and physiotherapist Dejib Thapa.
ANFA said the players were given cash reward for their sound performance in international tournaments and international friendlies throughout the year 2069 BS. However, of the 10 matches played during the year, Nepal won one, lost six and drew three matches.
In 2069 BS, Nepal played the Nehru Cup in New Delhi and the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers at home in March, one international friendly against Bangladesh and two against Pakistan.
Nepali team had failed to qualify for the AFC Challenge Cup finishing third in the four-team group. Nepal had defeated Northern Mariana Island, lost to Bangladesh and played a draw with Palestine. ANFA had announced the cash reward on March 6, the last day of the AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers, to award the team for its performance against Palestine. The match had ended in a 0-0 draw.
Nepal had lost both the international friendlies against Pakistan by 1-0, while the friendly with Bangladesh had ended in a 1-1 draw. In the Nehru Cup held some seven months ago, Nepal played a goalless draw with host India and lost 5-0 to Cameroon, 2-0 to Syria and 2-1 to Bangladesh respectively.
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