The Nepali U-20 national women’s football team is currently in its final phase of preparation for the SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship, slated to begin in the second week of July in Bangladesh.
Only four nations are participating in this year’s championship, which will be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from July 11 to 21. The participating countries include defending champions Bangladesh, along with Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka.
The Nepali team aims to break its title drought in the age-group category and win the championship. Under the guidance of head coach Yam Prasad Gurung, the U-20 women players are preparing for the tournament.
As only four teams are participating, the matches will be played in a double round-robin format. In this format, each team will play twice against every other team, and the team with the highest points at the end will be crowned the champion.
This tournament is also being seen as preparation for the AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers, which will take place in Bhutan from August 2 to 10. In the qualifiers, Nepal is in Group A alongside a strong North Korean team. Other teams in the group include host Bhutan, Mongolia, and Saudi Arabia.
Although Nepal has won the SAFF title once in the U-15 category, it has not yet secured a title in the U-19/20 categories.
According to the head coach Gurung the preparation of the team is strong this time, and the goal is to win the title.
“We are preparing to become champions. India is not participating. Bangladesh is our main competitor,” says Gurung.
Long-term preparation
Coach Gurung said that the team is better this time due to longer preparation. For the U-20 women’s national team, preliminary player selections were conducted in Surkhet, Jhapa, and Kathmandu.
From those selections, 60 players were shortlisted, and a final squad of 23 has been announced.
“We selected players from the provincial level and have now finalized our squad. This time, we have included three new players who have not played in any age-group tournaments previously,” says Gurung.
In contrast to the shorter preparation time in past tournaments, Gurung noted that they were given 45 days for training this time.
“We have built our team accordingly and made strategic plans for how to face each opponent. Bangladesh is a champion team, and Bhutan has been progressing significantly. We are not far behind either,” he says.
Best team so far
Coach Gurung is confident about the team and says that this is the “best team” Nepal has had in recent years. When Nepal played in the 2023 SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship, three players from the senior national team, Preeti Rai, Deepa Shahi, and Amisha Karki were part of the squad. However, in the 2024 SAFF U-19 Women’s Championship, there were no players from the senior team.
Similarly, no senior national players are included in this current U-20 team. However, many of the players who played in the previous U-19 SAFF tournament are in this team, which, according to Gurung, strengthens the squad.
Most of the players who played in the last SAFF U-19 Women’s Championship, held in Bangladesh, are part of this U-20 squad.
“Most of the U-19 players are still here. We have added three new players, while others have played in the U15 and U17 categories,” Gurung says.
Coach Gurung observed that players are in good shape and mentally motivated due to the number of domestic women’s football tournaments held recently.
“They have played in several local tournaments, so they are enthusiastic. Their fitness is good. They are learning endurance and tactical discipline,” says Gurung. “This time the team is strong and has the potential to become champions. It is strong as a squad, not just individually.”
The squad
Players from the previous U-19 team including Barsha Oli, Sujata Tamang, Sukriya Miya, Simran Rai, Samiksha Magar, Lila Joshi, Senu Pariyar, Birsana Chaudhary, Maya Maske, Jhuma Bishwakarma, Purnima Rai, Sushila KC, Sarita Kumari Nath, Sita Rokaya, Ganga Rokaya, and Karuna Budhathoki, are all part of the current squad.
Likewise, Kusum Khatri, who has already played in age-group competitions, and Meena Deuba, who has been performing well in domestic football, are also part of the team.
