SPEECH: Acting Ambassador of Nepal to Qatar Ganesh Prashad Dhakal speaking at the programme.
By Usha Wagle Gautam
The first round of the NRN Football Tournament was held recently at the training ground of Al Arabi Sports Club in Doha.
The tournament, organised by the National Co-ordination Council-Qatar (NRN-NCC), was inaugurated jointly by NRN-NCC President Macksud Alam, Acting Ambassador of Nepal to Qatar Ganesh Prashad Dhakal, and Al Arabi Sports Club Manager Abdullah al-Naimi. The national anthems of Nepal and Qatar were played at the opening ceremony.
There are 24 Nepali expat teams vying for the top spot in the tournament.
In his speech, Dhakal praised the organisation of the tournament and NRN-NCC’s efforts in “promoting unity and co-operation between the two countries”. He also spoke highly of Al Arabi Sports Club for its support to the tournament.
Al-Naimi said, “We are happy to see Nepalese playing in our ground. Our mutual support really shows the understanding and coexistence between Nepalese and Qatari people.”
Ten matches were played in the first round. On the first day, Narayan Gopal International Artists Forum Football Team (NGIAFF) defeated Pathibhara Sports Club (PSC) on a penalty shootout and Danphe Tamang Society Football Team (DTFT) beat Annapurna Football Club (AFC) by 4 goals. Khem Gautam (NGIAFF) and Bikesh Ghishing Tamang (DTFT) were declared the players of the match for the two games.
On the second day matches, Bhadrakali Nonresident Hemja Society (BNHS) beat Bageshwori Radhapur Sports Club (BRSC) by 3-1, Machhapuchhre Group Four (MGF) beat Fewa Sports Team (FST) on a penalty shootout, Buddha BBFC Football Team beat Saptakoshi Amal Service Football Team (SASF) 3-0, Ranipokhari Unity Boys Club (RUBC) beat Kashturi Sandhya Group Team (KSGT) 2-1, Makalu Black Cat Sports Club (MBCSC) beat Kanchanjunga Football Team (KFT) 6-2, Mechi Kali Janajagriti Football Team (MKJFT) beat Krishna Sagar Nepal Youth Club (KSNYC) 1-0, Mount Everest Youth Club (MEYC) beat Lakhan Thapa Magar Sports Club (LTMSC) 2-0, and Laligurans Purbaanchal Team (LPT) beat Swoyambhu Sky Sports Club (SSSC) on a penalty shootout.
The players of the match on the second day were: Santosh BK (BNHS), Awon Rai (MGF), Suraj Century (Buddha BBFC), Suraj Rai (RUBC), Manoj Shahi (MBCSC), Lakpa Lama (MKJFT), Bhupendra Dewan (MEYC) and Hari Chaudhary (LPT).
A committee led by Amrit Gurung, member of International Coordination Council members of NRN, is evaluating the individual performances of the players. Buddha Gurung is handling the technical matters and Deepak Khadka is managing the volunteers. Prabin Rai, Hom Gurung, Birendra Rajbanshi, Kamal Giri, Ayub Gaga and Mohammed Azdin are assigned as referees for the tournament.
The final match will be played on September 19.
